When to Plant Phlox in Durham, NC

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Durham can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's possible to plant phlox.


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 a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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 Durham 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Durham. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Durham and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Durham there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your phlox if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Durham

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 Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 Durham

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