The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant coral bells is to look at the USDA zone info for Riverdale.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Riverdale 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your coral bells indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Riverdale. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Riverdale is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Riverdale it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your coral bells if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverdale

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 Riverdale

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