One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 Oak Ridge you can figure out when you can plant tropical water plants by looking at 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 require warm weather which means that it is 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 Oak Ridge 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Oak Ridge. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Ridge there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical water plants if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Ridge

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 Oak Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Ridge.