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

It's a good idea to determine when to plant schizanthus by using the USDA zone info for Austin.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since schizanthus do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Austin 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your schizanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your schizanthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Austin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Austin last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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