One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant gaillardia in Raleigh can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

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

Gaillardia are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Raleigh 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gaillardia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Raleigh. In the coldest months of winter you should 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. Since half of the time in Raleigh there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your gaillardia 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 Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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.