One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant nierembergia is to check out the USDA zone info for New Orleans.

Planting Calendar for Nierembergia

Frost tolerance for nierembergia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Nierembergia are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nierembergia 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 nierembergia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your nierembergia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your nierembergia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New Orleans the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Orleans and it 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 ready to cover your nierembergia if you have 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.