One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Vancouver it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since cardinal flower do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Vancouver 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. Any later than that and 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Vancouver. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Vancouver is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Vancouver last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vancouver

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 Vancouver

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