When to Plant Clover in Arcata, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant clover is to check out the USDA zone info for Arcata.


Planting Calendar for Clover

Frost tolerance for clover: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since clover are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant clover
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant clover
Probably not a good time to plant clover

The earliest that you can plant clover in Arcata 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 clover and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your clover may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your clover indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Arcata the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Arcata is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Arcata you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your clover in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Arcata

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