One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Houston you should be able to estimate when to plant creeping phlox.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

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

You can plant creeping phlox earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Houston is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. Any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to really do well. 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 Houston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Houston is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Houston you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your creeping phlox in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Houston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Houston

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