Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant festuca is to consult the USDA zone info for Ocala.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

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

You can plant festuca a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Ocala. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ocala and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ocala it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your festuca in the event of a surprise 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.