One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for New Orleans you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant corn.

Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant corn until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant corn 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 corn and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your corn 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 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 will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Orleans it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your corn if you have 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.