When to Plant Cardinal Flower in Fort Lee, NJ

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Fort Lee you should be able to determine when to plant cardinal flower.


Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Cardinal Flower do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cardinal flower
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cardinal flower
Probably not a good time to plant cardinal flower

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Fort Lee 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

In Fort Lee the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fort Lee may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Lee last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Lee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Lee

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Lee.