One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant geranium is to consult the USDA zone info for Swarthmore.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

Frost tolerance for geranium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You can not plant geranium until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In Swarthmore the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Swarthmore and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Swarthmore you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your geranium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Swarthmore

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Swarthmore

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