One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 best time to plant salvia in Athens can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Salvia

Frost tolerance for salvia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Salvia can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant salvia in Athens is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant salvia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your salvia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your salvia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Athens it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your salvia if you have a 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.