Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant cosmos is to use the USDA zone info for Front Royal.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Since cosmos are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Front Royal 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cosmos 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 Front Royal. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Front Royal is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Front Royal you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your cosmos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Front Royal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Front Royal

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Front Royal.