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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant calliopsis is to refer to the USDA zone info for Exeter.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

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

It's not a good idea to plant calliopsis until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Exeter 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Exeter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Exeter and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Exeter you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your calliopsis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Exeter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Exeter

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