One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Charlotte can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's possible to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since calliopsis are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Charlotte 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your calliopsis indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Charlotte the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Charlotte may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charlotte you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your calliopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

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 Charlotte

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