One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant dusty miller in New Orleans can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Dusty Miller tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in New Orleans is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dusty miller 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. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for New Orleans is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in New Orleans it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dusty miller in the event of 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.