One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant bidens in Elmira can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bidens

Frost tolerance for bidens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since bidens are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bidens in Elmira is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bidens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bidens may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bidens indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elmira the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elmira and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elmira you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bidens in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elmira

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Elmira

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elmira.