When to Plant Strawberries in Bradford, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant strawberries is to use the USDA zone info for Bradford.


Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant strawberries a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant strawberries
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant strawberries
Probably not a good time to plant strawberries

The earliest that you can plant strawberries 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawberries may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your strawberries indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Bradford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bradford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your strawberries 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.