One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Durham it's possible to figure out when you can plant purple coneflower.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Purple Coneflower can survive in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant purple coneflower in Durham 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 purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your purple coneflower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your purple coneflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Durham. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Durham may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Durham it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.