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 first opportunity to plant creeping phlox in Alpine can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Creeping Phlox are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Alpine 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 creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your creeping phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alpine the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alpine is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alpine it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your creeping phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alpine

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 Alpine

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