One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Philadelphia you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant sanvitalia.

Planting Calendar for Sanvitalia

Frost tolerance for sanvitalia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Sanvitalia can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant sanvitalia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your sanvitalia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your sanvitalia 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Philadelphia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Philadelphia it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your sanvitalia if you have 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.