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 dallas fern by checking out the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Dallas Fern

Frost tolerance for dallas fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Dallas Fern do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dallas fern in Athens 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 dallas fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your dallas fern may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your dallas fern indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Athens. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Athens last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dallas fern if you have a surprise late frost.

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.