One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant coral bells is to look at the USDA zone info for Elizabethton.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Elizabethton 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your coral bells indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elizabethton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elizabethton is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Elizabethton there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your coral bells in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabethton

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 Elizabethton

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