When to Plant Canna in Charlotte, NC

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant canna by looking at the USDA zone info for Charlotte.


Planting Calendar for Canna

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

Since canna require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant canna 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your canna may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your canna indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charlotte and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charlotte it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your canna 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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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.