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

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant stevia by referring to the USDA zone info for New Iberia.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

Frost tolerance for stevia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Stevia are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant stevia in New Iberia 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your stevia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In New Iberia the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Iberia and it is different every year. Since half of the time in New Iberia you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your stevia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Iberia

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 New Iberia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Iberia.