When to Plant Sunflowers in Apex, NC

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

The best time to plant sunflowers in Apex can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Sunflowers are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant sunflowers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant sunflowers
Probably not a good time to plant sunflowers

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Apex 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 fully mature. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Apex the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Apex may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Apex you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your sunflowers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Apex

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Apex

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