One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 gladiolus in New Orleans should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gladiolus 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.

Since the USDA zone info for New Orleans is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in New Orleans it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your gladiolus 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.