One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Lake Charles you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant phlox.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

Frost tolerance for phlox:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Phlox are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Lake Charles is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant phlox and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Lake Charles. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Charles is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Charles last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Charles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Charles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Charles.