When to Plant Gayfeather in Philadelphia, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Philadelphia should be looked at to determine when you can plant gayfeather.


Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

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

Gayfeather are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gayfeather indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Philadelphia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Philadelphia and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Philadelphia there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your gayfeather in the event of a surprise 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 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 Philadelphia

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