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

The USDA zone info for Oak Island should be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant cosmos.

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 are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Oak Island 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cosmos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cosmos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Oak Island. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Island and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Island you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cosmos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Island

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 Oak Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Island.