The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Petal it's a good idea to determine when to plant oenothera.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Oenothera are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Petal 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your oenothera indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Petal. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Petal is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Petal you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your oenothera in the event of a late frost.

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.