Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 creeping phlox in Independence should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since creeping phlox are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Independence 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 creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your creeping phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Independence you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your creeping phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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