One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 getting a good idea when it's possible to plant mecardonia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Austin.

Planting Calendar for Mecardonia

Frost tolerance for mecardonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since mecardonia do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mecardonia in Austin is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mecardonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mecardonia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your mecardonia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Austin. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Austin may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your mecardonia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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