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

In Orange Beach you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant sunflowers by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Since sunflowers are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Orange Beach 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orange Beach. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Orange Beach is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Orange Beach there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your sunflowers in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.