Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Aurora can be used to estimate when you can plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant cardinal flower until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Aurora 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Aurora. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Aurora is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Aurora it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cardinal flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Aurora

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 Aurora

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