Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Shenandoah it's a good idea to estimate when to plant coleus.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

You can not plant coleus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Shenandoah 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your coleus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Shenandoah is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Shenandoah last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your coleus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

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 Shenandoah

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