One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 estimating when it's a good idea to plant lithospermum is to check out the USDA zone info for Carthage.

Planting Calendar for Lithospermum

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

You should not plant lithospermum until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lithospermum in Carthage 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 lithospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lithospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lithospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Carthage. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to 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 Carthage and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Carthage you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lithospermum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Carthage

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