When to Plant Creeping Phlox in Olney, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 determining when it's the best time to plant creeping phlox is to use the USDA zone info for Olney.


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 ok in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant creeping phlox
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant creeping phlox
Probably not a good time to plant creeping phlox

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Olney 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. If you wait any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your creeping phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Olney and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Olney there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your creeping phlox in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Olney

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 Olney

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