One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Lafayette you should be able to determine when it's a good idea 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 Lafayette is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cilantro may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cilantro indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Lafayette. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lafayette may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lafayette you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your cilantro in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Lafayette

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