One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Sarasota you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant oenothera.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Oenothera are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Sarasota. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Sarasota is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Sarasota it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your oenothera in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.