When to Plant Phlox in Bellingham, WA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant phlox by referring to the USDA zone info for Bellingham.


Planting Calendar for Phlox

Frost tolerance for phlox: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Phlox tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Bellingham is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bellingham the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bellingham and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bellingham it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your phlox if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bellingham

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Bellingham

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