One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant nicotiana is to check out the USDA zone info for Independence.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant nicotiana until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Independence is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your nicotiana indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Independence. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Independence there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your nicotiana if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Independence

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Independence.