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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Charleston it's a good idea to determine when you can plant diascia.

Planting Calendar for Diascia

Frost tolerance for diascia:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Diascia can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant diascia in Charleston is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant diascia and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your diascia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your diascia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Charleston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your diascia in the event of 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 Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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.