One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Magnolia it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant lithospermum.

Planting Calendar for Lithospermum

Frost tolerance for lithospermum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant lithospermum until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant lithospermum in Magnolia 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 lithospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lithospermum may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lithospermum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Magnolia. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Magnolia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Magnolia there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your lithospermum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Magnolia

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 Magnolia

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