One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when you can plant echinacea is to check out the USDA zone info for The Dalles.

Planting Calendar for Echinacea

Frost tolerance for echinacea:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since echinacea do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant echinacea in The Dalles is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant echinacea and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your echinacea may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your echinacea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In The Dalles the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°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 The Dalles and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in The Dalles it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your echinacea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for The Dalles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in The Dalles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Dalles.