When to Plant Iceberg lettuce in Sanibel, FL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Sanibel you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant iceberg lettuce.


Planting Calendar for Iceberg lettuce

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

Since iceberg lettuce are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant iceberg lettuce in Sanibel 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 iceberg lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your iceberg lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your iceberg lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Sanibel. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sanibel may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sanibel last frost occurs after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your iceberg lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sanibel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Sanibel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sanibel.