One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Gatlinburg can be used to figure out when it's possible to plant red hot pokers.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

Frost tolerance for red hot pokers:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Red Hot Pokers do well in cold which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Gatlinburg 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your red hot pokers may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your red hot pokers indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gatlinburg. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Gatlinburg may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gatlinburg you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your red hot pokers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gatlinburg

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 Gatlinburg

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