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.

In New Orleans you can estimate when it's the best time to plant datura by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Datura

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

Since datura are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

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.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for New Orleans is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in New Orleans you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your datura 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.