Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Anchorage you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant gladiolus.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Anchorage 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gladiolus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Anchorage. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Anchorage and it is different every year. Half of the time in Anchorage you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Anchorage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Anchorage

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