One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 will be able to figure out when to plant hamelia by using the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

Frost tolerance for hamelia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Hamelia are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hamelia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Athens there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your hamelia if you have 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.