One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 determining when you can plant delphinium is to use the USDA zone info for Cleveland.

Planting Calendar for Delphinium

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

Since delphinium are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Cleveland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Cleveland is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Cleveland it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your delphinium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cleveland

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 Cleveland

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