Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Berkeley you can estimate when to plant banana by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

Banana are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Berkeley is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant banana and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your banana indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Berkeley. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Berkeley and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your banana if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Berkeley

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