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.

The USDA zone info for Valdese should be used to determine when it's possible to plant painted tongues.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant painted tongues until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Valdese 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your painted tongues indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Valdese and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Valdese last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your painted tongues if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valdese

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 Valdese

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