One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant asparagus fern is to refer to the USDA zone info for Austin.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus Fern

Frost tolerance for asparagus fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since asparagus fern are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus fern in Austin 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 asparagus fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your asparagus fern may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your asparagus fern indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Austin it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your asparagus fern in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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