The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Forrest City you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant cosmos by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

Frost tolerance for cosmos:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Cosmos do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Forrest City is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cosmos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Forrest City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Forrest City is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Forrest City last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your cosmos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forrest City

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 Forrest City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forrest City.