One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant cigar plant by checking out the USDA zone info for New Orleans.

Planting Calendar for Cigar Plant

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant cigar plant until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cigar plant 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 cigar plant and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cigar plant may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cigar plant indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Orleans and it is different every year. Since half of the time in New Orleans last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your cigar plant if you have 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.