Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden 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 Athens can be looked at to figure out when it's the best time to plant liatris.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Athens 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your liatris indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Athens the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Athens is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Athens you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your liatris if you have 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.