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 Gainesville can be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant stevia.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant stevia until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Gainesville 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your stevia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Gainesville. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gainesville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Gainesville you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your stevia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

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