When to Plant Watermelon in New Port Richey, FL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's possible to estimate when to plant watermelon by reviewing the USDA zone info for New Port Richey.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant watermelon until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in New Port Richey 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 watermelon and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watermelon may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in New Port Richey. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Port Richey is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Port Richey it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your watermelon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Port Richey

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 New Port Richey

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Port Richey.