When to Plant Calliopsis in Raleigh, NC

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden 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 Raleigh can be used to estimate when to plant calliopsis.


Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

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

You really shouldn't plant calliopsis until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant calliopsis
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant calliopsis
Probably not a good time to plant calliopsis

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Raleigh 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Raleigh. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Raleigh may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Raleigh there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your calliopsis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Raleigh

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Raleigh

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Raleigh.