One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 figuring out when it's possible to plant cosmos is to check out the USDA zone info for Hope Mills.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Cosmos do ok in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Hope Mills 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cosmos indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Hope Mills. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hope Mills is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hope Mills there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cosmos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hope Mills

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 Hope Mills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hope Mills.