One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In De Soto you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross by referring to 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.

Maltese Cross are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in De Soto 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your maltese cross indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In De Soto the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for De Soto is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in De Soto there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your maltese cross in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for De Soto

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in De Soto

You may be interested in your other planting guides for De Soto.