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 Philadelphia it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant garlic.

Planting Calendar for Garlic

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

Garlic can survive in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant garlic 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 garlic and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your garlic may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your garlic indoors is a great way to get them started a few 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 last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your garlic in the event of a late frost.

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.