One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

It's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant sunflowers by using the USDA zone info for Gatlinburg.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Sunflowers require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Gatlinburg 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your sunflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Gatlinburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gatlinburg and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Gatlinburg you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your sunflowers if you have a surprise late frost.

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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.