Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Charleston it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant caladium.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

Since caladium do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Charleston 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charleston. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°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 Charleston and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your caladium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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