One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Natchez you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

You can plant maltese cross just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Natchez 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your maltese cross indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Natchez. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Natchez is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Natchez you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your maltese cross if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Natchez

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchez

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