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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Bessemer it's possible to estimate when to plant phlox.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Since phlox are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Bessemer 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Bessemer. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Bessemer is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bessemer you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bessemer

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