One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant achimenes by referring to the USDA zone info for Carthage.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

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

It's a bad idea to plant achimenes until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Carthage 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your achimenes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Carthage. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Carthage is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Carthage you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your achimenes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

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 Carthage

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