One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Tampa you can figure out when you can plant maltese cross by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

Since maltese cross are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your maltese cross may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your maltese cross indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Tampa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Tampa you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your maltese cross 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 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.