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.

You should be able to determine when it's possible to plant verbena by looking at the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Verbena

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

Verbena tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant verbena 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 verbena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your verbena 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 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Athens last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your verbena in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°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.