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

The USDA zone info for South Houston can be read to figure out when it's possible to plant pentas.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since pentas do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for South Houston is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in South Houston last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pentas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South 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 South Houston

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