One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In The Dalles you can determine when it's the best time to plant phlox by using 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 can survive in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in The Dalles 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. Any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in The Dalles. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for The Dalles is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in The Dalles there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.