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

The USDA zone info for Valley should be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant tropical water plants.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since tropical water plants do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Valley is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Valley the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valley is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Valley you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your tropical water plants in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valley

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 Valley

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