One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant nicotiana is to look at the USDA zone info for Newport.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

It's not a good idea to plant nicotiana until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Newport. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember 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 Newport and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Newport you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your nicotiana in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Newport

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