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

In South Bend you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

Frost tolerance for red hot pokers:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant red hot pokers a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in South Bend 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your red hot pokers may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your red hot pokers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in South Bend. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for South Bend may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in South Bend there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your red hot pokers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Bend

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 South Bend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Bend.