One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of determining when you can plant cilantro is to examine the USDA zone info for Natchitoches.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

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

Since cilantro do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Natchitoches. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Natchitoches is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Natchitoches you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cilantro if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Natchitoches

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchitoches

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