One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 La Crosse can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's possible to plant phlox.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in La Crosse 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in La Crosse. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for La Crosse may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in La Crosse there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for La Crosse

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in La Crosse

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crosse.