One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Smyrna you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

Maltese Cross do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Smyrna 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your maltese cross may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your maltese cross indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Smyrna is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Smyrna last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your maltese cross if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smyrna

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 Smyrna

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