One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant aubretia is to consult the USDA zone info for Cornelius.

Planting Calendar for Aubretia

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

Aubretia do well in cold which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant aubretia in Cornelius 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 aubretia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your aubretia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your aubretia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Cornelius is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cornelius it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your aubretia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cornelius

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Cornelius

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