One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Douglas you can figure out when you can plant petunias by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Petunias can survive in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Douglas 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your petunias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Douglas. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Douglas and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Douglas last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your petunias in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

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 Douglas

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