One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Athens you can determine when it's a good idea to plant bellis by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bellis

Frost tolerance for bellis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Bellis are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bellis in Athens is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bellis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bellis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bellis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Athens. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Athens it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your bellis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

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 Athens

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