One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Downey it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant banana.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

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

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

The last month that you can plant banana and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your banana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Downey. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Downey and it is different every year. Half of the time in Downey you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your banana if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Downey

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