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.

A way of estimating when to plant delphinium is to consult the USDA zone info for Oak Island.

Planting Calendar for Delphinium

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

Since delphinium are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Oak Island the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Oak Island may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Island last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your delphinium 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.