One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant lithospermum is to refer to the USDA zone info for Benicia.

Planting Calendar for Lithospermum

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant lithospermum until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lithospermum in Benicia 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 lithospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lithospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lithospermum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Benicia 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Benicia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Benicia you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lithospermum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benicia

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 Benicia

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