The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when to plant torch lilys is to refer to the USDA zone info for New Bern.

Planting Calendar for Torch Lilys

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

Torch Lilys tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant torch lilys in New Bern 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 torch lilys and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your torch lilys may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your torch lilys indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for New Bern may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Bern there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your torch lilys if you have a late frost.

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.