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When to Plant Tall Phlox in Forest Lake, MN

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 tall phlox in Forest Lake can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

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

Since tall phlox are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tall phlox
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tall phlox
Probably not a good time to plant tall phlox

The earliest that you can plant tall phlox in Forest Lake 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 tall phlox and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tall phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tall phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Forest Lake. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Forest Lake and it is different every year. Half of the time in Forest Lake last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tall phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Forest Lake

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