One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The best time to plant cosmos in Opelousas can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Cosmos do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Opelousas 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cosmos may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cosmos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Opelousas. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Opelousas is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Opelousas last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cosmos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Opelousas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Opelousas

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Opelousas.