When to Plant Coral Bells in Seattle, WA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Seattle should be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant coral bells.


Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Seattle 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your coral bells indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Seattle and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Seattle you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your coral bells if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Seattle

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 Seattle

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