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.

The USDA zone info for Selma can be used to determine when you can plant asters.

Planting Calendar for Asters

Frost tolerance for asters:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Asters do well in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Selma is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Selma there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your asters if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Selma

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 Selma

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