When to Plant Schizanthus in Harrisburg, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The first opportunity to plant schizanthus in Harrisburg can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant schizanthus until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your schizanthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Harrisburg. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Harrisburg and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Harrisburg last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your schizanthus in the event of a surprise 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.