The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Franklin can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time 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.

Since cardinal flower do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Franklin 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. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Franklin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Franklin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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