One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Forest City you can figure out when to plant gladiolus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Since gladiolus do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Forest City 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gladiolus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your gladiolus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Forest City. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Forest City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Forest City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Forest City

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 Forest City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest City.