Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when to plant tropical water plants is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 8b.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant tropical water plants until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Zone 8b is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your tropical water plants indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Zone 8b. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 8b and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 8b last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your tropical water plants in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8b.