One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant stevia.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

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

It's not a good idea to plant stevia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant stevia 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your stevia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Charleston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charleston and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your stevia in the event of a 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 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.