When to Plant Hardy Asters in Berkeley, 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 most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Berkeley it's possible to figure out when to plant hardy asters.


Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

Frost tolerance for hardy asters: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Hardy Asters are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Berkeley. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Berkeley and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Berkeley it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your hardy asters if you have one of those late frosts.

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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.