Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant sunflowers is to look at the USDA zone info for Sikeston.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant sunflowers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Sikeston 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your sunflowers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sikeston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sikeston and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sikeston it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your sunflowers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sikeston

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 Sikeston

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