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

One way of figuring out when you can plant hosta is to consult the USDA zone info for Philadelphia.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

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

The earliest that you can plant hosta 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your hosta indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Philadelphia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Philadelphia there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your hosta if you have 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.