One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Ottawa you can figure out when it's possible to plant tropical water plants by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

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

Tropical Water Plants are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Ottawa 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. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical water plants indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ottawa. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ottawa is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ottawa you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical water plants if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ottawa

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