One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Abilene it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant dusty miller.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since dusty miller are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Abilene 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your dusty miller indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Abilene the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Abilene is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Abilene last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to cover your dusty miller if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Abilene

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Abilene

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