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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant impatiens is to use the USDA zone info for Birmingham.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since impatiens require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens in Birmingham 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your impatiens may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your impatiens indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Birmingham the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Birmingham is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Birmingham it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your impatiens in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Birmingham

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 Birmingham

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