One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Wilmington can be reviewed to estimate when to plant sweet corn.

Planting Calendar for Sweet corn

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

Sweet corn do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant sweet corn 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 sweet corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sweet corn may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your sweet corn indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Wilmington the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wilmington and it is different every year. Half of the time in Wilmington there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your sweet corn if you have a surprise 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 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 Wilmington

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