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.

You should be able to determine when you can plant bachelor buttons by looking at the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Bachelor Buttons

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

Bachelor Buttons do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bachelor buttons in Athens 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 bachelor buttons and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bachelor buttons may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your bachelor buttons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Athens the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Athens and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Athens you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your bachelor buttons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

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 Athens

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