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.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant achimenes by checking out the USDA zone info for Rusk.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since achimenes are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Rusk 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Rusk. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rusk is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rusk there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your achimenes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rusk

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 Rusk

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