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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Islamorada it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Cardinal Flower do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Islamorada is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Islamorada it never frosts. You should expect an average low temperature of 40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Islamorada and it is different every year. Since it never frosts in Islamorada you do not have to be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Islamorada

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	40°F
Highest Expected Low	45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 45°F.

Plants to Grow in Islamorada

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