One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You should be able to determine when to plant liatris by referring to the USDA zone info for State College.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant liatris 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your liatris indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for State College 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 State College you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your liatris in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.