One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Buena Vista you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Cardinal Flower do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Buena Vista 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 grow to maturity. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Buena Vista the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Buena Vista and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Buena Vista there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Buena Vista

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Buena Vista

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Buena Vista.