One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant gaillardia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Bogalusa.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

Frost tolerance for gaillardia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gaillardia do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gaillardia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bogalusa the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Bogalusa is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bogalusa last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gaillardia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bogalusa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Bogalusa

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