One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant painted tongues in Tampa by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

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

You really shouldn't plant painted tongues until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your painted tongues indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Tampa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Tampa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Tampa there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your painted tongues 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.