The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant impatiens is to check out the USDA zone info for San Marcos.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since impatiens are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens in San Marcos 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your impatiens 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 San Marcos. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Marcos and it is different every year. Half of the time in San Marcos there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your impatiens if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Marcos

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 San Marcos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Marcos.