One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant diascia in Bristol by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Diascia

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

You can plant diascia a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant diascia in Bristol 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 diascia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your diascia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your diascia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bristol. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bristol may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bristol you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your diascia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bristol

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