Annual scabious · Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
When to plant annual scabious in Guangzhou
Main outdoor window
26 Dec - 24 Jan
A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.
Timed from last spring frost
10 January
In Guangzhou, on your chosen risk.
First flowers
27 Mar - 26 Apr
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Guangzhou
Download these planting dates (.ics)
Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.
Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.
Start indoors
14 Nov - 12 Dec
Eight weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
26 Dec - 24 Jan
Two weeks before your last frost.
Plant out
3-31 Jan
One week before your last frost.
In flower
27 Mar - 26 Apr
Annual scabious through the year
Against the frost risk in Guangzhou
Seasonal context
Rainfall and the growing season in Guangzhou
June has the highest average precipitation (331 mm); December has the lowest (30 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.
During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.
Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.
Monthly growing conditions in Guangzhou
Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.
| Month | Average low | Average high | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.9°C (48°F)48°F (8.9°C) | 20.9°C (69.5°F)69.5°F (20.9°C) | 0.2 |
| February | 11.4°C (52.5°F)52.5°F (11.4°C) | 23.1°C (73.5°F)73.5°F (23.1°C) | 0.0 |
| March | 15.3°C (59.6°F)59.6°F (15.3°C) | 26.5°C (79.8°F)79.8°F (26.5°C) | 0.0 |
| April | 19.4°C (67°F)67°F (19.4°C) | 29.3°C (84.7°F)84.7°F (29.3°C) | 0.0 |
| May | 22.7°C (72.9°F)72.9°F (22.7°C) | 30.6°C (87.1°F)87.1°F (30.6°C) | 0.0 |
| June | 25.1°C (77.2°F)77.2°F (25.1°C) | 31°C (87.8°F)87.8°F (31°C) | 0.0 |
| July | 25.5°C (77.9°F)77.9°F (25.5°C) | 31.7°C (89°F)89°F (31.7°C) | 0.0 |
| August | 25.3°C (77.5°F)77.5°F (25.3°C) | 31.6°C (88.9°F)88.9°F (31.6°C) | 0.0 |
| September | 23.5°C (74.4°F)74.4°F (23.5°C) | 30.8°C (87.5°F)87.5°F (30.8°C) | 0.0 |
| October | 19.4°C (66.9°F)66.9°F (19.4°C) | 29°C (84.2°F)84.2°F (29°C) | 0.0 |
| November | 14.8°C (58.7°F)58.7°F (14.8°C) | 26.3°C (79.3°F)79.3°F (26.3°C) | 0.0 |
| December | 9.4°C (48.9°F)48.9°F (9.4°C) | 21.7°C (71°F)71°F (21.7°C) | 0.3 |
For annual scabious, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.
Local growing check
Before choosing annual scabious for Guangzhou
- June is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 331 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.
Before you plant annual scabious
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 10°C (50°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
- Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
- Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Cut annual scabious regularly while conditions remain suitable
Use sun and fertile, drained soil. Tall strains may need support before stems lean into neighbouring plants. Keep moisture available during establishment, while recognising that hot, humid weather can limit performance even in a well-watered bed.
Remove or cut fading blooms to encourage further flowers, or retain selected heads if seed is wanted. Compare stem length and flower quality across sowings. Adding water to already wet soil will not solve a display that is declining because the weather is unsuitable.
What to record this season
Which sowing gave the strongest cut stems, and when did heat or humidity reduce flower quality? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: NC State Extension: Scabiosa atropurpurea . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy
Why these dates
Use sun and fertile, drained soil. Tall strains may need support before stems lean into neighbouring plants. Keep moisture available during establishment, while recognising that hot, humid weather can limit performance even in a well-watered bed.
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.
This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Annual scabious are timed from 8 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 1 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Guangzhou.
Guangzhou is zone 10a, within the crop's general range. This is an initial cold-hardiness check; cultivar, exposure, drainage and unusual winters can still change the outcome.
The median frost-free season here is 348 days, against 90 to 120 days to first flower for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Guangzhou
Other flowers to time
Growing annual scabious in Guangzhou
Can I grow annual scabious in Guangzhou?
The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. June is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 331 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
When should I plant annual scabious in Guangzhou?
Aim for 26 Dec - 24 Jan in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 17 Jan - 14 Feb - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When might annual scabious flower in Guangzhou?
The estimated period is 27 Mar - 26 Apr, based on 90 to 120 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.
How much frost will annual scabious tolerate?
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.