When to Plant Canna in Tampa, FL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 chance to plant canna in Tampa can be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Canna

Frost tolerance for canna: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant canna until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant canna
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant canna
Probably not a good time to plant canna

The earliest that you can plant canna 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your canna indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Tampa. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Tampa is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Tampa you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your canna if you have one of those late frosts.

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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.