When to Plant Phlox in Billings, MT

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.

You will be able to figure out when to plant phlox by using the USDA zone info for Billings.


Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

You can plant phlox just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Billings the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Billings is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Billings you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your phlox if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Billings

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 Billings

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