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 checking out the USDA zone info for Wilmington you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant lantana.

Planting Calendar for Lantana

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

It's not a good idea to plant lantana until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

In Wilmington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wilmington and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Wilmington you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lantana in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Wilmington

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