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

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant rosemary is to consult the USDA zone info for Sumter.

Planting Calendar for Rosemary

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

Rosemary tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Sumter is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sumter last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rosemary 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.