One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross by looking at the USDA zone info for Orting.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

Since maltese cross are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Orting 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. Any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your maltese cross indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Orting. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Orting is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Orting it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your maltese cross in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orting

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Orting

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