Annual scabious · Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico

When to plant annual scabious in Aguascalientes

Main outdoor window

22 Jan - 19 Feb

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

5 February

In Aguascalientes, on your chosen risk.

First flowers

22 Apr - 22 May

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Aguascalientes

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Start indoors

11 Dec - 8 Jan

Eight weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow direct

22 Jan - 19 Feb

Two weeks before your last frost.

Plant out

29 Jan - 26 Feb

One week before your last frost.

In flower

22 Apr - 22 May

Frost tolerance
Hardy
Damaged below
-8°C (17.6°F)
Days to flowering
90–120
Hardy to
Zone 3a–10a
Min soil temp
10°C (50°F)
Spacing
30 cm
Sowing depth
5 mm (0.2 in)
Sun
Full

Annual scabious through the year

Against the frost risk in Aguascalientes

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Start indoors Sow direct Plant out Harvest Today
Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Aguascalientes

July has the highest average precipitation (131 mm); April has the lowest (4 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 12 mm
Feb 17 mm
Mar 10 mm
Apr 4 mm
May 22 mm
Jun 90 mm
Jul 131 mm
Aug 106 mm
Sep 101 mm
Oct 34 mm
Nov 12 mm
Dec 8 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Aguascalientes

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January 4.9°C (40.7°F) 20.8°C (69.5°F) 1.3
February 5.8°C (42.5°F) 23.1°C (73.7°F) 0.7
March 7.4°C (45.3°F) 25.8°C (78.5°F) 0.1
April 9.9°C (49.9°F) 28.6°C (83.4°F) 0.0
May 12.7°C (54.9°F) 30.3°C (86.5°F) 0.0
June 14.2°C (57.6°F) 28.9°C (84.1°F) 0.0
July 13.2°C (55.8°F) 27.1°C (80.8°F) 0.0
August 13°C (55.4°F) 27.2°C (81°F) 0.0
September 12.7°C (54.8°F) 26.2°C (79.2°F) 0.0
October 10.5°C (50.9°F) 25.4°C (77.7°F) 0.0
November 7.6°C (45.7°F) 23.3°C (73.9°F) 0.5
December 5.7°C (42.3°F) 21.1°C (70°F) 1.0

For annual scabious, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing annual scabious for Aguascalientes

  • July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 131 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant annual scabious

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 10°C (50°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
  • Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
  • Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
  • Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Cut annual scabious regularly while conditions remain suitable

Use sun and fertile, drained soil. Tall strains may need support before stems lean into neighbouring plants. Keep moisture available during establishment, while recognising that hot, humid weather can limit performance even in a well-watered bed.

Remove or cut fading blooms to encourage further flowers, or retain selected heads if seed is wanted. Compare stem length and flower quality across sowings. Adding water to already wet soil will not solve a display that is declining because the weather is unsuitable.

What to record this season

Which sowing gave the strongest cut stems, and when did heat or humidity reduce flower quality? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: NC State Extension: Scabiosa atropurpurea . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Use sun and fertile, drained soil. Tall strains may need support before stems lean into neighbouring plants. Keep moisture available during establishment, while recognising that hot, humid weather can limit performance even in a well-watered bed.

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Annual scabious are timed from 8 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 1 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Aguascalientes.

Aguascalientes is zone 9b, within the crop's general range. This is an initial cold-hardiness check; cultivar, exposure, drainage and unusual winters can still change the outcome.

The median frost-free season here is 296 days, against 90 to 120 days to first flower for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Aguascalientes →

Growing annual scabious in Aguascalientes

Can I grow annual scabious in Aguascalientes?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 131 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant annual scabious in Aguascalientes?

Aim for 22 Jan - 19 Feb in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 18 Feb - 18 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When might annual scabious flower in Aguascalientes?

The estimated period is 22 Apr - 22 May, based on 90 to 120 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will annual scabious tolerate?

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.