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.

One way of estimating when you can plant gayfeather is to use the USDA zone info for Alameda.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

Frost tolerance for gayfeather:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since gayfeather are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Alameda 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gayfeather may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gayfeather indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Alameda may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Alameda you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your gayfeather in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alameda

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 Alameda

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