One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant coleus by using the USDA zone info for Sumter.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Coleus require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Sumter 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your coleus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sumter the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sumter and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sumter there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your coleus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sumter

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 Sumter

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