One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Smithfield it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant fuchsia.

Planting Calendar for Fuchsia

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

Since fuchsia require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant fuchsia in Smithfield 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 fuchsia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fuchsia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your fuchsia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Smithfield is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Smithfield it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your fuchsia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithfield

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