When to Plant Maltese Cross in Zone 2b

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when to plant maltese cross is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 2b.


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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant maltese cross
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant maltese cross
Probably not a good time to plant maltese cross

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Zone 2b is April. However, you really should wait until May 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 August. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 2b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -45°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 2b is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 2b last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your maltese cross in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-45°F
Highest Expected Low-40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -40°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2b.