One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 New Bern you can figure out when it's possible to plant achimenes by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Achimenes do not do well in cold weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in New Bern 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your achimenes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in New Bern. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for New Bern is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in New Bern last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your achimenes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Bern

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 New Bern

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Bern.