Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 opportunity to plant nigella in Fort Smith can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Nigella tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Fort Smith 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Smith. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Smith is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Smith you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your nigella in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Smith

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Smith

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Smith.