One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant coral bells is to refer to the USDA zone info for Washington.

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 bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Washington 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. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your coral bells indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Washington. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Washington is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Washington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your coral bells if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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