One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Fitzgerald should be looked at to determine when it's a good idea to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

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

Calliopsis are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Fitzgerald 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Fitzgerald. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fitzgerald and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fitzgerald there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your calliopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fitzgerald

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Fitzgerald

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