One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when to plant xerianthemum is to consult the USDA zone info for Ketchikan.

Planting Calendar for Xerianthemum

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

Xerianthemum are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant xerianthemum in Ketchikan 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 xerianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your xerianthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your xerianthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ketchikan the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ketchikan and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ketchikan you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your xerianthemum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ketchikan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ketchikan

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ketchikan.