Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant lemon grass in Ithaca by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lemon grass

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

You can plant lemon grass just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average 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 it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your lemon grass in the event of 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.