One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant liatris.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

Frost tolerance for liatris:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since liatris do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Mechanicsburg 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your liatris indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg 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 Mechanicsburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your liatris if you have a late frost.

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.