Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Chesapeake should be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time to plant oenothera.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

Frost tolerance for oenothera:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oenothera do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Chesapeake 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Chesapeake. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chesapeake is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chesapeake last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your oenothera in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

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 Chesapeake

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