Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Nashville you can figure out when it's the best time to plant cardinal flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Nashville 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. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Nashville. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Nashville and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Nashville you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Nashville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Nashville

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