One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant sunflowers is to examine the USDA zone info for Auburn.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant sunflowers until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Auburn 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your sunflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Auburn the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Auburn may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Auburn there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your sunflowers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Auburn

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 Auburn

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