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.

In Islamorada you can determine when to plant sunflowers by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Since sunflowers require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your sunflowers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of 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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Islamorada may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Islamorada you do not have to be ready to protect your sunflowers in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.