When to Plant Lavender in Bakersfield, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Bakersfield it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant lavender.


Planting Calendar for Lavender

Frost tolerance for lavender: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Lavender are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Bakersfield 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Bakersfield is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bakersfield it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lavender in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bakersfield

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 Bakersfield

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