One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant tithonia by looking at the USDA zone info for Aiken.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

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

You can not plant tithonia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Aiken 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tithonia 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 Aiken. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Aiken is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Aiken you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your tithonia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Aiken

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 Aiken

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