One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant polygonums is to look at the USDA zone info for Charleston.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

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

You can not plant polygonums until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Charleston. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charleston and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your polygonums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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