The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening 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 Independence can be looked at to determine when you can plant firebush.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Firebush do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Independence 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your firebush 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 Independence. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your firebush if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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