One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant lavender cotton is to consult the USDA zone info for Bessemer.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

Frost tolerance for lavender cotton:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since lavender cotton are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in Bessemer is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lavender cotton may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lavender cotton indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Bessemer. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bessemer may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bessemer last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lavender cotton if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bessemer

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