When to Plant Caladium in Fort Myers, FL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 caladium in Fort Myers can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

Caladium do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant caladium
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant caladium
Probably not a good time to plant caladium

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Fort Myers 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Fort Myers. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Myers is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Myers you get a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your caladium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Myers

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Myers

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