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.

In Manhattan you can determine when it's a good idea to plant creeping phlox by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Manhattan 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. Any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your creeping phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Manhattan the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Manhattan may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Manhattan it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your creeping phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manhattan

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 Manhattan

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