One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Elizabeth City you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant tithonia by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

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

Since tithonia require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Elizabeth City 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tithonia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Elizabeth City. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elizabeth City is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elizabeth City you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tithonia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabeth City

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 Elizabeth City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elizabeth City.