One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant coral bells by looking at the USDA zone info for Monterey.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

Frost tolerance for coral bells:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Coral Bells are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Monterey 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your coral bells indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Monterey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Monterey and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Monterey you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your coral bells in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Monterey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Monterey

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