When to Plant Pansies in Cary, 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant pansies by reviewing the USDA zone info for Cary.


Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies tend to make it in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Cary 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cary the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cary and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cary last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your pansies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cary

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 Cary

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