One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 getting a good idea when to plant banana is to look at the USDA zone info for Louisville.

Planting Calendar for Banana

Frost tolerance for banana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Banana do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Louisville 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your banana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Louisville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Louisville is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Louisville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your banana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Louisville

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