When to Plant Strawberries in Lake City, FL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when to plant strawberries is to use the USDA zone info for Lake City.


Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since strawberries do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Lake City 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawberries may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your strawberries indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Lake City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake City and it is different every year. Half of the time in Lake City you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your strawberries if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake City.