The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant creeping phlox is to consult the USDA zone info for Mattoon.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

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

Creeping Phlox do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Mattoon 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 creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your creeping phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your creeping phlox 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 Mattoon. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Mattoon is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mattoon you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your creeping phlox in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mattoon

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 Mattoon

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