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 Lorain should be looked at to figure out 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 probably not a good idea to plant cardinal flower until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Lorain 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. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Lorain. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lorain is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lorain there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lorain

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 Lorain

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