When to Plant Gomphrena in Zone 3b

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Zone 3b it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant gomphrena.


Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

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

Gomphrena do ok in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in Zone 3b 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 gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gomphrena may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your gomphrena indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3b is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3b it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gomphrena in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.