When to Plant Caladium in Charleston, SC

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

You can determine when you can plant caladium in Charleston by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant caladium until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Charleston 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your caladium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Charleston. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Charleston is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your caladium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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