One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant coreopsis is to look at the USDA zone info for Petal.

Planting Calendar for Coreopsis

Frost tolerance for coreopsis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant coreopsis just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant coreopsis in Petal is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant coreopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coreopsis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your coreopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Petal is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Petal last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your coreopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Petal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Petal

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