One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Shippensburg can be reviewed to determine when it's the best time to plant romaine lettuce.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Romaine lettuce can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce 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 romaine lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your romaine lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Shippensburg. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shippensburg may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Shippensburg last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your romaine lettuce 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 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 Shippensburg

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