The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when you can plant lovage is to examine the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

Frost tolerance for lovage:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Lovage do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant lovage and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lovage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Athens. You should 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 last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to cover your lovage 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.