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 you can plant oenothera is to look at the USDA zone info for New Iberia.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Oenothera do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in New Iberia 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your oenothera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for New Iberia is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in New Iberia there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your oenothera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Iberia

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 New Iberia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Iberia.