When to Plant Flowering Tobacco in Ocala, FL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant flowering tobacco by reviewing the USDA zone info for Ocala.


Planting Calendar for Flowering Tobacco

Frost tolerance for flowering tobacco: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since flowering tobacco require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant flowering tobacco in Ocala 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 flowering tobacco and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flowering tobacco may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your flowering tobacco indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ocala is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ocala you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your flowering tobacco if you have one of those late frosts.

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 Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°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.