One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant coral bells is to examine the USDA zone info for Red Oak.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

Frost tolerance for coral bells:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant coral bells a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Red Oak 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your coral bells indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Red Oak. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Red Oak and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Red Oak there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your coral bells if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Red Oak

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 Red Oak

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Red Oak.