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.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant red hot pokers is to examine the USDA zone info for Creston.

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.

Since red hot pokers do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Creston 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Creston. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Creston is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Creston there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your red hot pokers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Creston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Creston

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