One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Louisville it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant caladium.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

You really shouldn't plant caladium until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Louisville 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Louisville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Louisville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Louisville last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

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 Louisville

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