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.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant oleander is to consult the USDA zone info for Lake Charles.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since oleander do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant oleander in Lake Charles is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oleander and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your oleander indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lake Charles. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lake Charles is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lake Charles there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your oleander in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Charles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Charles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Charles.