One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant pentas by looking at the USDA zone info for Nashville.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant pentas until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pentas in Nashville 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pentas may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pentas indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Nashville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Nashville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Nashville you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your pentas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Nashville

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 Nashville

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