One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Freehold you will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant red hot pokers.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

Frost tolerance for red hot pokers:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Red Hot Pokers do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Freehold is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your red hot pokers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your red hot pokers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Freehold. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Freehold and it is different every year. Half of the time in Freehold you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your red hot pokers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Freehold

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Freehold

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