When to Plant Firebush in Zone 5a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 5a it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant firebush.


Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Since firebush are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant firebush
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant firebush
Probably not a good time to plant firebush

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Zone 5a 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your firebush indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Zone 5a. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Zone 5a is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your firebush in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

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 Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.