One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The first chance to plant festuca in Philadelphia can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

Frost tolerance for festuca:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant festuca just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Philadelphia 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 festuca and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your festuca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your festuca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Philadelphia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Philadelphia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Philadelphia there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your festuca in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Philadelphia

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 Philadelphia

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