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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Tampa it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant bellis.

Planting Calendar for Bellis

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

Since bellis are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bellis 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 bellis and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your bellis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bellis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Tampa is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Tampa it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your bellis in the event of 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.