One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant gladiolus in Odessa should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

You can plant gladiolus just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Odessa is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gladiolus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Odessa. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Odessa is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Odessa last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your gladiolus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Odessa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Odessa

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