One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for South Lake Tahoe can be read to estimate when to plant coral bells.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in South Lake Tahoe is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your coral bells indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Lake Tahoe the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Lake Tahoe may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Lake Tahoe you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your coral bells if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Lake Tahoe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in South Lake Tahoe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Lake Tahoe.