One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Ruston you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant liatris by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Ruston 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your liatris indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ruston is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ruston there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your liatris in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ruston

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 Ruston

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