One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You should be able to determine when to plant caladium by checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

You should not plant caladium until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Zone 3a is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. You can expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your caladium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-40°F
Highest Expected Low	-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.