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.

In Sumter you can estimate when it's possible to plant oleander by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

Since oleander do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Sumter. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sumter may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sumter you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your oleander in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.