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

It's possible to determine when you can plant tall phlox by using the USDA zone info for Wilmington.

Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

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

Tall Phlox do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant tall phlox in Wilmington 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 tall phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your tall phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tall phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Wilmington is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Wilmington last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your tall phlox if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Wilmington

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