One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Lafayette you can determine when to plant caladium by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant caladium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lafayette. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lafayette is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lafayette last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Lafayette

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