One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The first opportunity to plant gaillardia in Montgomery can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

Frost tolerance for gaillardia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gaillardia are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gaillardia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your gaillardia 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 Montgomery. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Montgomery is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Montgomery there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your gaillardia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Montgomery

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Montgomery

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