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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Rutherford it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant tall phlox.

Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

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

Tall Phlox do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant tall 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 tall phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tall phlox may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your tall phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rutherford. You should 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 just an average 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 surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tall phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.