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.

The USDA zone info for Chesapeake can be read to determine when it's possible to plant schizanthus.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant schizanthus until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Chesapeake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chesapeake it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

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.