Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 8a should be looked at to determine when it's possible to plant platycodon.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

Frost tolerance for platycodon:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since platycodon are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant platycodon in Zone 8a is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant platycodon and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your platycodon may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your platycodon indoors.

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.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8a is an average 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 be sure to be ready to protect your platycodon in the event of 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.