Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant gladiolus in Chesapeake should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

Frost tolerance for gladiolus:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gladiolus are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Chesapeake 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gladiolus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chesapeake the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Chesapeake is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chesapeake it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Chesapeake

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