One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The first opportunity to plant coral bells in Zone 8b can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

You can plant coral bells a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Zone 8b 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your coral bells indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 8b the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 8b you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your coral bells in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8b.