One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant anchusa is to consult the USDA zone info for Orange Beach.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

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

Since anchusa do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Orange Beach 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anchusa may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your anchusa indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Orange Beach 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Orange Beach is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Orange Beach you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your anchusa if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange Beach

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 Orange Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange Beach.