Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant asters is to refer to the USDA zone info for State College.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

You can plant asters a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant asters in State College 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for State College is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in State College last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for State College

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 State College

You may be interested in your other planting guides for State College.