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.

You will be able to estimate when to plant petunias by checking out the USDA zone info for Bessemer City.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

Frost tolerance for petunias:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since petunias are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Bessemer City is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your petunias indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bessemer City. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bessemer City and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bessemer City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your petunias if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer City

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 Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 Bessemer City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bessemer City.