One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant coleus by checking out the USDA zone info for Decatur.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

You can not plant coleus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Decatur 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coleus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Decatur. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Decatur and it is different every year. Half of the time in Decatur you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your coleus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

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 Decatur

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