One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for New Orleans it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant romanesco.

Planting Calendar for Romanesco

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

Since romanesco are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant romanesco 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 romanesco and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your romanesco may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your romanesco indoors.

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.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Orleans and it changes 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 protect your romanesco 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.