When to Plant Black pepper in Zone 6a

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 6a you can determine when it's a good idea to plant black pepper by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Black pepper

Frost tolerance for black pepper: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since black pepper do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Zone 6a 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 black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black pepper indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Zone 6a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 6a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 6a you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your black pepper if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 6a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 6a.