One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Cary it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant coral bells.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Cary is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your coral bells indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Cary. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cary may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cary last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your coral bells if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cary

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Cary

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