One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Rutherford it's possible to determine 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 start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Rutherford 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Rutherford. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rutherford and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rutherford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rutherford

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 Rutherford

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