When to Plant Stocks in Lancaster, PA

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.

You will be able to figure out when you can plant stocks by using the USDA zone info for Lancaster.


Planting Calendar for Stocks

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

Stocks tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Lancaster 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 stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stocks may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your stocks 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 Lancaster. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lancaster is just an average 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 make sure that you are ready to protect your stocks if you have 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.