One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant lemon grass is to use the USDA zone info for Key West.

Planting Calendar for Lemon grass

Frost tolerance for lemon grass:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Lemon grass do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Key West it never frosts. You can expect an average low temperature of 45°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Key West may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Key West you do not have to be ready to cover your lemon grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Key West

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Key West

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Key West.