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.

The best time to plant amaranthus in New Orleans can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant amaranthus until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in New Orleans 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 amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your amaranthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In New Orleans the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for New Orleans may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in New Orleans last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your amaranthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.