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

A way of estimating when to plant painted tongues is to look at the USDA zone info for Harrisburg.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant painted tongues until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Harrisburg 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Harrisburg. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Harrisburg may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Harrisburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your painted tongues 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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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.