One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant gayfeather is to check out the USDA zone info for Vicksburg.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

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

Since gayfeather are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Vicksburg 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gayfeather indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Vicksburg. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Vicksburg is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Vicksburg it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your gayfeather in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vicksburg

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 Vicksburg

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