One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower by checking out the USDA zone info for Gastonia.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since cardinal flower do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Gastonia 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. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gastonia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gastonia and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gastonia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gastonia

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 Gastonia

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