When to Plant Firebush in Zone 8b

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant firebush is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 8b.


Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Firebush require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost 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 8b 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. If you are starting your firebush indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Zone 8b. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8b is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8b you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your firebush if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8b.