One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant impatiens is to refer to the USDA zone info for Athens.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since impatiens require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens in Athens 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your impatiens indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Athens. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Athens you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your impatiens in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.