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

By using the USDA zone info for Tampa you should be able to figure out when to plant arctotis.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

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

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Tampa 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arctotis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your arctotis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Tampa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Tampa is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Tampa last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your arctotis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tampa

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 Tampa

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