One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant helianthemum in Ocala should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Since helianthemum are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your helianthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Ocala. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ocala you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your helianthemum if you have 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.