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.

A way of figuring out when you can plant firebush is to consult the USDA zone info for La Junta.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant firebush until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in La Junta is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your firebush indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in La Junta. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for La Junta is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in La Junta you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your firebush in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Junta

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 La Junta

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Junta.