The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Reading can be reviewed to estimate when it's a good idea to plant nicotiana.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

Nicotiana are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Reading 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Reading. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Reading is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Reading you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your nicotiana if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Reading

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 Low	0°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 Reading

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