Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant centaurea is to use the USDA zone info for El Dorado.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

You can plant centaurea a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in El Dorado 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your centaurea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your centaurea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Dorado the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for El Dorado is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Dorado you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your centaurea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.