One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Truckee you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers.

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.

Since red hot pokers are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Truckee 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your red hot pokers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your red hot pokers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Truckee. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Truckee is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Truckee it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your red hot pokers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Truckee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Truckee

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