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.

It's possible to estimate when you can plant achimenes by using the USDA zone info for North Charleston.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant achimenes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in North Charleston 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in North Charleston. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for North Charleston and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in North Charleston you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your achimenes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in North Charleston

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