One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant firebush by checking out the USDA zone info for Knoxville.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

You really shouldn't plant firebush until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant firebush 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Knoxville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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 Knoxville and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Knoxville there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your firebush 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.