One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ithaca you can determine when to plant anchusa by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

Frost tolerance for anchusa:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Anchusa are very cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Ithaca 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your anchusa may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your anchusa indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ithaca. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ithaca is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ithaca last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your anchusa if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ithaca

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 Ithaca

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