Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

In Athens you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant petunias by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Petunias are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant petunias 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your petunias indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Athens. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Athens may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Athens you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your petunias in the event of a 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.