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When to Plant Red Hot Pokers in Charleston, SC

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers is to consult the USDA zone info for Charleston.


Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

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

Red Hot Pokers do well in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant red hot pokers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant red hot pokers
Probably not a good time to plant red hot pokers

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your red hot pokers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your red hot pokers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Charleston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your red hot pokers in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.