One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Darlington you should be able to determine when to plant firebush.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Since firebush are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Darlington 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your firebush 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 March 15 in Darlington. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Darlington is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Darlington there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your firebush if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Darlington

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 Darlington

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