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

The first chance to plant phlox in Milwaukee can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Milwaukee 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Milwaukee is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Milwaukee it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your phlox if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Milwaukee

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 Milwaukee

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