Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 it's a good idea to plant geranium is to examine the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

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

Since geranium do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant geranium in Mechanicsburg 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 geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your geranium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your geranium indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mechanicsburg you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your geranium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mechanicsburg

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 Mechanicsburg

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