When to Plant Black pepper in Zone 8a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Zone 8a can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

You can not plant black pepper until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant black pepper
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant black pepper
Probably not a good time to plant black pepper

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Zone 8a 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 black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black pepper may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black pepper indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Zone 8a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 8a and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8a last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your black pepper in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8a

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Zone 8a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8a.