One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Cottage Grove you should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant phlox.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Cottage Grove 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. If you wait any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Cottage Grove. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cottage Grove is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Cottage Grove there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cottage Grove

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Cottage Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cottage Grove.