Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant firebush by referring to the USDA zone info for Fort Smith.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Firebush require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Fort Smith 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your firebush indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Fort Smith. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fort Smith and it is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Smith last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your firebush if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Smith

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Smith

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Smith.