When to Plant Coral Bells in Shippensburg, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant coral bells in Shippensburg can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Since coral bells are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Shippensburg 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your coral bells 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 Shippensburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°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 Shippensburg and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Shippensburg there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your coral bells if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shippensburg

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 Shippensburg

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