One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Sumter can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

Lobelia tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Sumter is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lobelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lobelia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sumter and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sumter last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lobelia 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.