Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Hartwell should be reviewed to figure out when it's the best time to 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 it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Hartwell 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. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hartwell the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartwell is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hartwell you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hartwell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Hartwell

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