One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Athens you can determine when it's the best time to plant dallas fern by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dallas Fern

Frost tolerance for dallas fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant dallas fern until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dallas fern in Athens 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 dallas fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your dallas fern may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dallas fern indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Athens. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Athens and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Athens there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dallas fern if you have a 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.