Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

In Houston you can figure out when it's the best time to plant sanvitalia by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sanvitalia

Frost tolerance for sanvitalia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since sanvitalia are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant sanvitalia in Houston 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 sanvitalia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sanvitalia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your sanvitalia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Houston. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Houston and it is different every year. Half of the time in Houston last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your sanvitalia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Houston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Houston

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