One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant cosmos is to look at the USDA zone info for Fort Lauderdale.

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 are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Fort Lauderdale 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. 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 January 31 in Fort Lauderdale. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Lauderdale is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Lauderdale you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your cosmos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Lauderdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Lauderdale

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Lauderdale.