One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when you can plant cardinal flower is to check out the USDA zone info for Catoosa.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since cardinal flower are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Catoosa 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 fully mature. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Catoosa. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Catoosa and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Catoosa there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your cardinal flower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Catoosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Catoosa

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