One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Matthews can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

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 tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Matthews 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Matthews may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Matthews last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your coral bells in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Matthews

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 Matthews

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