The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant osteospermum is to refer to the USDA zone info for Lakeland.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Osteospermum do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Lakeland 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your osteospermum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lakeland and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lakeland last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your osteospermum if you have a surprise 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.