When to Plant Cardinal Flower in Alexandria, VA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 Alexandria should be determined 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.

Since cardinal flower are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cardinal flower
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cardinal flower
Probably not a good time to plant cardinal flower

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Alexandria 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. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alexandria. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alexandria and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Alexandria you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alexandria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Alexandria

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