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 USDA zone info for Lakeland can be reffered to in order to determine when you can plant okra.

Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Okra do not do well in cold weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Lakeland 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 okra and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lakeland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lakeland is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lakeland last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your okra if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lakeland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Lakeland

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