One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant iberis is to check out the USDA zone info for Crete.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

Frost tolerance for iberis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant iberis a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant iberis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iberis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your iberis indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Crete. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Crete is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Crete it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your iberis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Crete

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