One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Shelby you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant pansies.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Pansies do well in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Shelby 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pansies indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Shelby the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shelby may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shelby last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your pansies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shelby

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 Shelby

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