One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Auburndale it's a good idea to determine when to plant cosmos.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Cosmos do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Auburndale. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Auburndale and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Auburndale you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cosmos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Auburndale

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 Auburndale

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