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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Ithaca you should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant snapdragons.

Planting Calendar for Snapdragons

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

Snapdragons do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant snapdragons 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 snapdragons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your snapdragons may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your snapdragons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

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.

Since the USDA zone info for Ithaca is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ithaca there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your snapdragons in the event of 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.