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.

The best time to plant peonies in Lake Charles can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

Frost tolerance for peonies:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Peonies do ok in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Lake Charles 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your peonies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Lake Charles. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Charles and it is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Charles last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your peonies in the event of a 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.