One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant caladium is to refer to the USDA zone info for Fairmont.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant caladium until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Fairmont 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fairmont the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairmont is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairmont you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your caladium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairmont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairmont

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