When to Plant Rosemary 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.

You should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant rosemary by reviewing the USDA zone info for Ocala.


Planting Calendar for Rosemary

Frost tolerance for rosemary: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Rosemary are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant rosemary 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 rosemary and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rosemary may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your rosemary indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ocala is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ocala there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your rosemary 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 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.