One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Mandan you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Since cardinal flower require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Mandan is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Mandan. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mandan is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mandan you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mandan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Mandan

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