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

In West Memphis you can figure out when it's the best time to plant cardinal flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since cardinal flower require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in West Memphis 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. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in West Memphis. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for West Memphis

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 West Memphis

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Memphis.