Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when to plant maltese cross is to examine the USDA zone info for New Orleans.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

Frost tolerance for maltese cross:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Maltese Cross tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your maltese cross may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your maltese cross indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for New Orleans is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in New Orleans you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your maltese cross in the event of 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.