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.

The USDA zone info for Jefferson can be looked at to figure out when it's the best time to plant begonias.

Planting Calendar for Begonias

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant begonias until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Jefferson 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 begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your begonias may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your begonias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Jefferson. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Jefferson and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Jefferson you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your begonias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jefferson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jefferson

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