One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The first chance to plant cardinal flower in Lancaster can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Since cardinal flower are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Lancaster 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lancaster may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lancaster it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cardinal flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Lancaster

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