One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 chance to plant lavender in Orange should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Orange. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Orange may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Orange there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your lavender in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Orange

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