One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant tropical water plants is to check out the USDA zone info for Louisville.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's not a good idea to plant tropical water plants until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Louisville is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your tropical water plants indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Louisville. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Louisville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Louisville you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tropical water plants if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Louisville

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