One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when you can plant phlox by reviewing the USDA zone info for East Alton.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Since phlox do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in East Alton 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Alton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for East Alton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in East Alton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your phlox if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for East Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in East Alton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Alton.