Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Athens can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

Since arctotis are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Athens 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arctotis indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Athens. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Athens it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your arctotis if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

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 Athens

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