Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Roanoke can be reffered to in order to estimate when you can plant corn.

Planting Calendar for Corn

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

You can not plant corn until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Roanoke. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Roanoke and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Roanoke it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your corn if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Roanoke

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