One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant xerianthemum is to examine the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Xerianthemum

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

Since xerianthemum do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant xerianthemum 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 xerianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your xerianthemum may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your xerianthemum 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 should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Athens you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your xerianthemum in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.