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

A common way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant firebush is to refer to the USDA zone info for Manchester.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Since firebush do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Manchester 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. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Manchester is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Manchester it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your firebush in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manchester

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 Manchester

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