Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant romaine lettuce by referring to the USDA zone info for Austin.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Romaine lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Austin 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 romaine lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your romaine lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Austin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Austin is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your romaine lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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