One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for Douglas it's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant gomphrena.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

Frost tolerance for gomphrena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since gomphrena are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in Douglas 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 gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gomphrena indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Douglas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Douglas is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Douglas it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your gomphrena if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

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 Douglas

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