One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant geum is to refer to the USDA zone info for Austin.

Planting Calendar for Geum

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

You can plant geum just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant geum 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 geum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your geum may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your geum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Austin. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Austin is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Austin you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your geum if you have 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.