One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sanibel you can figure out when it's possible to plant oleander by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

Since oleander do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant oleander 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your oleander indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them 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 can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sanibel is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sanibel it frosts late in the year after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your oleander in the event of 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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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.