When to Plant Purple Coneflower in Oil City, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Oil City you will be able to figure out when to plant purple coneflower.


Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Purple Coneflower are barely cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant purple coneflower in Oil City 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 purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purple coneflower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your purple coneflower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Oil City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Oil City may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Oil City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your purple coneflower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oil City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oil City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oil City.