One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 cardinal flower in Gig Harbor can be estimated by reviewing 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.

It's a bad idea to plant cardinal flower until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Gig Harbor 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Gig Harbor. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gig Harbor is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gig Harbor it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gig Harbor

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Gig Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gig Harbor.