One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Swarthmore should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

Frost tolerance for gladiolus:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

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

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Swarthmore is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gladiolus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Swarthmore is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Swarthmore there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your gladiolus if you have one of those late frosts.

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.