One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Carmel it's a good idea to determine when to plant tall phlox.

Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

Frost tolerance for tall phlox:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Tall Phlox tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant tall phlox in Carmel is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tall phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tall phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tall phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carmel. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carmel is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Carmel there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tall phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carmel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Carmel

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