One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Austin can be looked at to determine when it's a good idea to plant scabiosa.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

Frost tolerance for scabiosa:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Scabiosa can survive in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your scabiosa may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your scabiosa indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them 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 should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your scabiosa 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.