Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Red Oak you can estimate when it's the best time to plant gayfeather by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

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

Gayfeather tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gayfeather indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Red Oak is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Red Oak last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gayfeather in the event of a surprise 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.