One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 Durham can be reviewed to estimate when you can plant lisianthus.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

Frost tolerance for lisianthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant lisianthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus in Durham 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 lisianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lisianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lisianthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Durham. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Durham and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Durham you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lisianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Durham

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 Durham

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