One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Knoxville it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant iresene.

Planting Calendar for Iresene

Frost tolerance for iresene:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since iresene are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Knoxville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Knoxville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your iresene in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.