When to Plant Cantaloupes in Zone 13a

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 first opportunity to plant cantaloupes in Zone 13a can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

Frost tolerance for cantaloupes: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Since cantaloupes are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cantaloupes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cantaloupes
Probably not a good time to plant cantaloupes

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Zone 13a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cantaloupes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 13a it never frosts. You can expect an average low temperature of 60°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 13a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 13a you do not have to be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 13a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 13a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)Never
Lowest Expected Low60°F
Highest Expected Low65°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 65°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 13a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 13a.