The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ithaca you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant gerbera by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

Frost tolerance for gerbera:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gerbera tend to make it in very little cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gerbera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gerbera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ithaca. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

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 will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ithaca last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your gerbera if you have a surprise 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.