One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant cardinal flower is to refer to the USDA zone info for Oak Island.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Since cardinal flower require warm weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Oak Island 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Oak Island the average date of last frost happens on March 15. 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 just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Island and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Island there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Island

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 Oak Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Island.