One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 referring to the USDA zone info for Bradford it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant helianthemum.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Since helianthemum are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Bradford 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your helianthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bradford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bradford is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bradford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your helianthemum in the event of 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.