One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The best time to plant gaillardia in Manitou Springs should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

Frost tolerance for gaillardia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gaillardia tend to make it in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Manitou Springs 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gaillardia 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 Manitou Springs. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Manitou Springs and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Manitou Springs last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your gaillardia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manitou Springs

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 Manitou Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Manitou Springs.