When to Plant Okra in Charleston, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant okra in Charleston should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Okra do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant okra in Charleston 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 okra and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charleston. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Charleston is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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