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

One way of making a decision about when you can plant dusty miller is to refer to the USDA zone info for Surprise.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Dusty Miller can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Surprise is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dusty miller may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your dusty miller indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Surprise. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Surprise is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Surprise last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your dusty miller in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Surprise

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Surprise

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