The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Tampa you can determine when it's a good idea to plant bell peppers by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

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

Bell Peppers do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Tampa is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bell peppers indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Tampa is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Tampa you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bell peppers 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.