One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Rensselaer can be used to determine when it's the best time to plant creeping phlox.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Creeping Phlox are very cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Rensselaer 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 creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your creeping phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rensselaer the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rensselaer is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your creeping phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rensselaer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rensselaer

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