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.

The first opportunity to plant phlox in Shelby should be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

Frost tolerance for phlox:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Phlox tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Shelby 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Shelby. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shelby is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Shelby you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shelby

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 Shelby

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