One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Fort Smith it's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant stevia.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

Frost tolerance for stevia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant stevia until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Fort Smith 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your stevia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Fort Smith is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Smith it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your stevia if you have a surprise 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.