One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 looking at the USDA zone info for La Porte it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Cardinal Flower require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in La Porte 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in La Porte. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Porte and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in La Porte it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Porte

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 La Porte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Porte.