One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first opportunity to plant lavender cotton in Dade City should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

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

You can plant lavender cotton earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in Dade City 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender cotton may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lavender cotton indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Dade City is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dade City there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lavender cotton in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dade City

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 Dade City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dade City.