One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers is to refer to the USDA zone info for Nashville.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

Frost tolerance for red hot pokers:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Red Hot Pokers do well in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Nashville 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your red hot pokers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your red hot pokers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Nashville 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 Nashville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Nashville last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your red hot pokers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Nashville

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 Nashville

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