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.

In Fort Walton Beach you can determine when to plant cardinal flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

You really shouldn't plant cardinal flower until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Fort Walton Beach 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Walton Beach the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Walton Beach you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Walton Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Walton Beach

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