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.

The USDA zone info for Dawson should be used to figure out when to plant didiscus.

Planting Calendar for Didiscus

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

Since didiscus are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant didiscus in Dawson 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 didiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your didiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your didiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Dawson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dawson may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dawson there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your didiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dawson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Dawson

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