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

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant petunias is to check out the USDA zone info for Benton.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Petunias tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Benton 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your petunias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your petunias indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Benton. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Benton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benton there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your petunias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

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 Benton

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