When to Plant Astilbe in Harrisburg, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

The first chance to plant astilbe in Harrisburg should be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Harrisburg 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your astilbe indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Harrisburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Harrisburg is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Harrisburg last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your astilbe if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Harrisburg

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