The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant arctotis is to refer to the USDA zone info for Marion.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

Since arctotis do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Marion 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arctotis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your arctotis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Marion you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your arctotis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

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 Marion

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