The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for New Orleans it's a good idea to estimate when to plant banana.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

You can not plant banana until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant banana 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your banana may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your banana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is 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 an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in New Orleans there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your banana if you have a 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.