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 verbena in Tampa should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Verbena

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

Verbena do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant verbena 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 verbena and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your verbena 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.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Tampa is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Tampa it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your verbena 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.