One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Ripon it's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant firebush.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant firebush until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Ripon 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your firebush indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ripon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ripon is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ripon you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your firebush if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ripon

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