One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of determining when you can plant bleeding hearts is to refer to the USDA zone info for Orange.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

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

Bleeding Hearts do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bleeding hearts in Orange 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 bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your bleeding hearts indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Orange 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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Orange may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Orange there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bleeding hearts if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange

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 Orange

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