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.

A way of figuring out when to plant nigella is to refer to the USDA zone info for Rocky Mount.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since nigella are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Rocky Mount is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nigella may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Rocky Mount. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rocky Mount may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rocky Mount there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your nigella if you have a surprise late frost.

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.