One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 the best time to plant achimenes is to examine the USDA zone info for Alachua.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Achimenes do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Alachua is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your achimenes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alachua the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alachua and it is different every year. Half of the time in Alachua you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your achimenes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alachua

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Alachua

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