One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Zone 8a should be reviewed to estimate when to plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant hamelia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hamelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 8a the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8a it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your hamelia in the event of a surprise late frost.

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 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 Zone 8a

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