One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 Fort Collins should be reffered to in order to determine 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.

You can plant phlox just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Fort Collins 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Collins. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fort Collins is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Collins you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Collins

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Collins

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Collins.