When to Plant Nicotiana in Pittsburgh, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Pittsburgh can be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

Since nicotiana are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Pittsburgh 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your nicotiana indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Pittsburgh the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Pittsburgh is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pittsburgh last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your nicotiana if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsburgh

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Pittsburgh

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