Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant bloodleaf by looking at the USDA zone info for Ithaca.

Planting Calendar for Bloodleaf

Frost tolerance for bloodleaf:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since bloodleaf require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bloodleaf in Ithaca 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 bloodleaf and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bloodleaf may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bloodleaf indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Ithaca. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ithaca and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ithaca last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your bloodleaf in the event of a late frost.

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.