Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when to plant festuca is to consult the USDA zone info for Dade City.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

Frost tolerance for festuca:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Festuca are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Dade City is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant festuca and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your festuca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your festuca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Dade City. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dade City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Dade City you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your festuca in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dade City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Dade City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dade City.