Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant gaillardia in Johnston can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

Frost tolerance for gaillardia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gaillardia are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Johnston is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your gaillardia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Johnston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Johnston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Johnston last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your gaillardia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Johnston

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 Johnston

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