One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant nicotiana is to use the USDA zone info for Rayne.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Nicotiana are not cold tolerant which means that you have to 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 nicotiana in Rayne 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your nicotiana 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 Rayne. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Rayne may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rayne there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your nicotiana in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rayne

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 Rayne

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