One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A common way of figuring out when it's possible to plant coleus is to consult the USDA zone info for Zone 13a.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant coleus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant coleus 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your coleus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 13a and it is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 13a you do not have to be ready to cover your coleus in the event of a surprise 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 Low	60°F
Highest Expected Low	65°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.