The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Marion you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant creeping phlox by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Creeping Phlox are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Marion is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your creeping phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your creeping phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marion. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Marion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your creeping phlox if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

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 Marion

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