One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant four o' clock is to consult the USDA zone info for Erie.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You can not plant four o' clock until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Erie 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your four o' clock may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your four o' clock indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Erie. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Erie 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 Erie last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your four o' clock in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Erie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Erie

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