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.

The first chance to plant painted tongues in Zone 8a can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

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

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

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your painted tongues indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Zone 8a is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8a last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your painted tongues if you have a 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.