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.

The first opportunity to plant cardinal flower in Meridian can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since cardinal flower are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Meridian 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Meridian the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Meridian is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Meridian you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cardinal flower in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Meridian

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 Meridian

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