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

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant firebush by referring to the USDA zone info for Knoxville.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since firebush do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your firebush indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Knoxville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Knoxville is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Knoxville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your firebush if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Knoxville

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 Knoxville

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