When to Plant Tithonia in Mechanicsburg, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant tithonia.


Planting Calendar for Tithonia

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

Tithonia do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant tithonia 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tithonia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tithonia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Mechanicsburg. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

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. Half of the time in Mechanicsburg you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your tithonia 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 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 Mechanicsburg

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