One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Searcy should be used to estimate when to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Cardinal Flower do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Searcy 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Searcy. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Searcy is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Searcy there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Searcy

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 Searcy

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