The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when to plant pansies is to look at the USDA zone info for Hickory.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since pansies do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Hickory is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pansies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hickory. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hickory is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Hickory you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pansies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory

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 Hickory

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