One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant phlox is to use the USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

Frost tolerance for phlox:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Phlox do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Fort Walton Beach 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. If you wait any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Fort Walton Beach you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your phlox in the event of a 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.