One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Ocala you can estimate when to plant centaurea by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

Centaurea are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Ocala 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your centaurea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ocala. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocala is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ocala there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your centaurea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ocala

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocala

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