One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 coleus in Gainesville should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Coleus are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Gainesville 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Gainesville the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gainesville and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gainesville you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your coleus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gainesville.