When to Plant Larkspur in Arcata, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant larkspur in Arcata by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Larkspur

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

You can plant larkspur earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant larkspur in Arcata 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your larkspur may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your larkspur indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Arcata and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Arcata you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your larkspur 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.