One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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 chance to plant cardinal flower in Jacksonville should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant cardinal flower until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Jacksonville 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Jacksonville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Jacksonville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Jacksonville last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Jacksonville

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