One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 Astoria you can estimate when you can plant gomphrena by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

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

Since gomphrena are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in Astoria 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 gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gomphrena indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Astoria is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Astoria you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gomphrena in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Astoria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Astoria

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