Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Ocala can be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant verbena.

Planting Calendar for Verbena

Frost tolerance for verbena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since verbena do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant verbena in Ocala is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant verbena and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your verbena indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

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. Half of the time in Ocala last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your verbena 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.