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

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant coleus is to use the USDA zone info for Lake Charles.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant coleus until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Lake Charles 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lake Charles the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lake Charles is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lake Charles it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your coleus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Charles

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 Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 Lake Charles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Charles.