One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant brachycome is to refer to the USDA zone info for New Orleans.

Planting Calendar for Brachycome

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

You can not plant brachycome until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant brachycome 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 brachycome and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your brachycome may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your brachycome indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in New Orleans. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Orleans and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in New Orleans it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your brachycome in the event of 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.