One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Independence should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant oleander.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant oleander until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant oleander in Independence is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your oleander indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Independence. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oleander if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Independence

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