The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers is to check out the USDA zone info for Albany.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

Frost tolerance for red hot pokers:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Red Hot Pokers do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Albany is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your red hot pokers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your red hot pokers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Albany. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Albany is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Albany there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your red hot pokers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Albany

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Albany

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