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 referring to the USDA zone info for Gatesville it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant coleus.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

You should not plant coleus until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Gatesville 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your coleus 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 Gatesville. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gatesville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gatesville there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your coleus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gatesville

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 Gatesville

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