When to Plant Strawberries in Gatlinburg, TN

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when to plant strawberries is to refer to the USDA zone info for Gatlinburg.


Planting Calendar for Strawberries

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

Strawberries do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant strawberries
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant strawberries
Probably not a good time to plant strawberries

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Gatlinburg 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your strawberries may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your strawberries indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gatlinburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gatlinburg is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gatlinburg you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your strawberries if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gatlinburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Gatlinburg

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