One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross is to look at the USDA zone info for Geneva.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

Frost tolerance for maltese cross:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant maltese cross a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Geneva is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your maltese cross indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Geneva. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Geneva and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Geneva you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your maltese cross if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Geneva

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 Geneva

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