When to Plant Canna in Gainesville, FL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant canna in Gainesville can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Canna

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

Since canna do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant canna
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant canna
Probably not a good time to plant canna

The earliest that you can plant canna in Gainesville 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your canna indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Gainesville. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gainesville and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Gainesville you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your canna if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

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