One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Wilmington it's possible to figure out when you can plant purple coneflower.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

Frost tolerance for purple coneflower:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since purple coneflower are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant purple coneflower in Wilmington 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 purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your purple coneflower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your purple coneflower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Wilmington. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°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 Wilmington and it is different every year. Half of the time in Wilmington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Wilmington

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