One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Hillsdale can be reffered to in order to determine when you can plant coral bells.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

Frost tolerance for coral bells:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Coral Bells do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Hillsdale 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your coral bells 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 Hillsdale. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hillsdale and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hillsdale you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your coral bells if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsdale

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 Hillsdale

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