One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant banana is to refer to the USDA zone info for Islamorada.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

Since banana do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Islamorada it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 40°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Islamorada is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since it never frosts in Islamorada you do not have to be ready to cover your banana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Islamorada

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	40°F
Highest Expected Low	45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 45°F.

Plants to Grow in Islamorada

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