One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant skullcap is to consult the USDA zone info for Zone 7a.

Planting Calendar for Skullcap

Frost tolerance for skullcap:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant skullcap until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant skullcap in Zone 7a 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 skullcap and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your skullcap may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your skullcap indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 7a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 7a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 7a you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your skullcap in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 7a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7a.