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

In Morehead City you can determine when you can plant echinacea by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Echinacea

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

Echinacea can survive in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant echinacea in Morehead City 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 echinacea and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your echinacea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your echinacea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Morehead City. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Morehead City is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Morehead City it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your echinacea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Morehead 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 Morehead City

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