When to Plant Pentas in Philadelphia, PA

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.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant pentas is to consult the USDA zone info for Philadelphia.


Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Pentas are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant pentas in Philadelphia is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pentas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pentas indoors.

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.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Philadelphia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Philadelphia it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pentas 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 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.