One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Benton Harbor should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Benton Harbor 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Benton Harbor. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Benton Harbor there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your phlox if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton Harbor

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 Benton Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton Harbor.