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.

In Decatur you can determine when it's a good idea to plant achillea by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achillea

Frost tolerance for achillea:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since achillea are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant achillea in Decatur 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 achillea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your achillea may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your achillea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Decatur. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Decatur is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your achillea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

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 Decatur

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