One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 Independence you can determine when it's a good idea to plant tithonia by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

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

It's not a good idea to plant tithonia until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Independence 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tithonia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Independence may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tithonia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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