One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Franklin should be reviewed to determine when to plant coreopsis.

Planting Calendar for Coreopsis

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

Coreopsis are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant coreopsis in Franklin 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 coreopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coreopsis may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your coreopsis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Franklin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Franklin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your coreopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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