One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Cocoa can be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant firebush.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Firebush require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Cocoa 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your firebush indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Cocoa. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cocoa is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cocoa you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your firebush in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.