Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 possible to plant centaurea is to use the USDA zone info for Hempstead.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

Since centaurea are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Hempstead is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your centaurea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your centaurea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Hempstead. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Hempstead is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hempstead it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your centaurea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hempstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Hempstead

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