The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant cardinal flower in Taft can be determined by reviewing 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 are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Taft is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 September. 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Taft. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Taft is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Taft it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Taft

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Taft

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