When to Plant Gladiolus in Oak Harbor, WA

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

You should be able to determine when to plant gladiolus by referring to the USDA zone info for Oak Harbor.


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 one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Oak Harbor 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. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your gladiolus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Oak Harbor the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Oak Harbor is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Harbor you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak 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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 Oak Harbor

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