One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 referring to the USDA zone info for Decatur you should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant calliopsis until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Decatur 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Decatur. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Decatur may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Decatur it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your calliopsis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Decatur

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