One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Wheeling you will be able to estimate when it's the best time 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 ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Wheeling 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Wheeling. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Wheeling is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Wheeling last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your phlox if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wheeling

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Wheeling

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