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 opportunity to plant lavender in Sarasota can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

You can plant lavender a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Sarasota 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Sarasota. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sarasota may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sarasota last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your lavender if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sarasota

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Sarasota

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