One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 checking out the USDA zone info for Rainbow City you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant cilantro.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

Frost tolerance for cilantro:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since cilantro are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Rainbow City 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 cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cilantro may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cilantro indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rainbow City. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rainbow City may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rainbow City it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cilantro in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rainbow City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rainbow City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rainbow City.