The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant firebush is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 9b.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

You really shouldn't plant firebush until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Zone 9b is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your firebush indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 9b the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

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 9b and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 9b you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your firebush in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9b.