One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 Mercer Island can be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant artemesia.

Planting Calendar for Artemesia

Frost tolerance for artemesia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Artemesia are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant artemesia in Mercer Island is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant artemesia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your artemesia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your artemesia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mercer Island the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mercer Island is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Mercer Island it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your artemesia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mercer Island

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 Mercer Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mercer Island.