Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 coleus in Arcata should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant coleus until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Arcata. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Arcata may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Arcata you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your coleus if you have 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 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 Arcata

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