Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Petal should be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant geranium.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

Frost tolerance for geranium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since geranium require warm weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant geranium in Petal 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 geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your geranium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your geranium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Petal the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Petal may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Petal last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your geranium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Petal

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 Petal

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