Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Winchester you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower by looking at 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.

It's probably a bad idea to plant cardinal flower until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Winchester 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Winchester. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Winchester is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Winchester there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winchester

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 Winchester

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