When to Plant Salvia in Wilmington, NC

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant salvia by reviewing the USDA zone info for Wilmington.


Planting Calendar for Salvia

Frost tolerance for salvia: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since salvia are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant salvia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant salvia
Probably not a good time to plant salvia

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Wilmington. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Wilmington may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmington you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your salvia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Wilmington

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