One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Smithfield should be reviewed to figure out when to plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

Frost tolerance for hamelia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant hamelia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia in Smithfield 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hamelia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Smithfield the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Smithfield and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Smithfield it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your hamelia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

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 Smithfield

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