One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant sunflowers in Chariton by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant sunflowers until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Chariton 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Chariton. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chariton is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chariton there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your sunflowers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chariton

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 Chariton

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