One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The best time to plant astilbe in Austin can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Austin is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your astilbe if you have a late frost.

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.