When to Plant Bells of Ireland in Bradford, PA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Bradford it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant bells of ireland.


Planting Calendar for Bells of Ireland

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

You can plant bells of ireland a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bells of ireland
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bells of ireland
Probably not a good time to plant bells of ireland

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

Last Frost Date

In Bradford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bradford is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bradford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your bells of ireland if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bradford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Bradford

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