Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant gaillardia by looking at the USDA zone info for Hillsborough.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

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

Gaillardia do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Hillsborough 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gaillardia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hillsborough the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Hillsborough is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hillsborough you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your gaillardia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsborough

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 Hillsborough

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