One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant pansies.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Since pansies are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Gulf Shores 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gulf Shores. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Gulf Shores is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Gulf Shores you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your pansies if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

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 Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.