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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant oleander is to consult the USDA zone info for Washington.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably not a good idea to plant oleander until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant oleander in Washington is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oleander indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Washington. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Washington is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Washington you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oleander in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Washington

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