One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Knoxville you can determine when you can plant caladium by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

Since caladium do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Knoxville 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your caladium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Knoxville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Knoxville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Knoxville there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Knoxville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Knoxville

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