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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant creeping phlox in Zone 3a by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since creeping phlox do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Zone 3a is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your creeping phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your creeping phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 3a you get a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your creeping phlox in the event of 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.