One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Athens you can determine when to plant gomphrena by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

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

Gomphrena are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena 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 gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gomphrena indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Athens. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Athens you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your gomphrena in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

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 Athens

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