One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant hardy asters is to refer to the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Since hardy asters do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Tuscaloosa 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tuscaloosa. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa and it is different every year. Half of the time in Tuscaloosa you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your hardy asters in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tuscaloosa

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 Tuscaloosa

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