The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Swarthmore it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant rhubarb.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Rhubarb do well in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Swarthmore 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rhubarb may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your rhubarb indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Swarthmore last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your rhubarb in the event of 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.