One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant four-o-clock flower is to consult the USDA zone info for Laurel.

Planting Calendar for Four-o-clock flower

Frost tolerance for four-o-clock flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since four-o-clock flower require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant four-o-clock flower in Laurel 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 four-o-clock flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your four-o-clock flower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your four-o-clock flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Laurel is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Laurel you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your four-o-clock flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Laurel

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 Laurel

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