One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Oak Ridge should be read to figure out when it's possible to plant bleeding hearts.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

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

Bleeding Hearts are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bleeding hearts in Oak Ridge 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 bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your bleeding hearts indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Oak Ridge. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Ridge there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bleeding hearts in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Ridge

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 Oak Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Ridge.