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.

By using the USDA zone info for Austin you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant basket of gold.

Planting Calendar for Basket of Gold

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

Basket of Gold do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold in Austin 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 basket of gold and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your basket of gold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your basket of gold indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Austin there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your basket of gold in the event of a surprise 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.