One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 USDA zone info for New Orleans should be reviewed to figure out when it's a good idea to plant astilbe.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for New Orleans is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in New Orleans you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your astilbe in the event of 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.