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

The USDA zone info for Ocean City can be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant phlox.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Ocean City 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ocean City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocean City is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ocean City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ocean City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocean City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ocean City.