When to Plant Maltese Cross in Lancaster, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant maltese cross in Lancaster should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

Frost tolerance for maltese cross: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Maltese Cross do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lancaster is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lancaster there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your maltese cross in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Low0°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 Lancaster

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