One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first chance to plant dusty miller in Cocoa should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Dusty Miller are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Cocoa is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dusty miller indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cocoa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cocoa and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cocoa you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your dusty miller if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cocoa

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 Cocoa

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