Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Altoona it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant gayfeather.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

Frost tolerance for gayfeather:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Gayfeather do well in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Altoona 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gayfeather indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Altoona. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Altoona is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona you get a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your gayfeather in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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