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

A common way of estimating when you can plant firebush is to refer to the USDA zone info for Utica.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since firebush do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Utica. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Utica is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Utica you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your firebush in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Utica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Utica

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