One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of figuring out when you can plant lenten rose is to use the USDA zone info for Cocoa.

Planting Calendar for Lenten Rose

Frost tolerance for lenten rose:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since lenten rose are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lenten rose 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 lenten rose and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your lenten rose may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lenten rose indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Cocoa. 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 just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cocoa and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cocoa last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your lenten rose if you have 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.