One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 earliest that you can plant centaurea in Opelika can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

Frost tolerance for centaurea:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Centaurea do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Opelika is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your centaurea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your centaurea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Opelika is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Opelika there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your centaurea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Opelika

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 Opelika

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