The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Louisville you can estimate when it's the best time to plant gaillardia by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

Frost tolerance for gaillardia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gaillardia are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Louisville 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gaillardia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your gaillardia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Louisville. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Louisville is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Louisville last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gaillardia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Louisville

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