Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In New Orleans you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant alstromeria by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alstromeria

Frost tolerance for alstromeria:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant alstromeria a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant alstromeria in New Orleans is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alstromeria and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your alstromeria may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your alstromeria indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in New Orleans. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for New Orleans is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in New Orleans last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your alstromeria if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Orleans

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in New Orleans

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