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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Shafter it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant phlox.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Shafter 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Shafter. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Shafter there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your phlox if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

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