One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant bleeding hearts in Tampa should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

Frost tolerance for bleeding hearts:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Bleeding Hearts do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bleeding hearts indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Tampa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Tampa you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bleeding hearts 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.