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.

The best time to plant oenothera in Charleston should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

Frost tolerance for oenothera:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant oenothera a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Charleston is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oenothera indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Charleston. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charleston is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oenothera 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.