One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rocky Mount you can determine when it's the best time to plant cosmos by referring to the USDA zone info.

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

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Rocky Mount 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 grow to maturity. Starting your cosmos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rocky Mount the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Rocky Mount may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rocky Mount you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your cosmos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rocky Mount

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 Rocky Mount

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rocky Mount.