The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 Sandy should be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant achimenes.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

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

Since achimenes require warm weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Sandy 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Sandy the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sandy is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Sandy last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your achimenes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sandy

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sandy

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