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.

In Independence you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant fuchsia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fuchsia

Frost tolerance for fuchsia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since fuchsia require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant fuchsia 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 fuchsia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fuchsia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fuchsia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Independence. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Independence and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your fuchsia in the event of a late frost.

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.