When to Plant Pansies 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.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant pansies by reviewing the USDA zone info for Berkeley.


Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant pansies earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Berkeley is just an average and the actual date of last frost 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 ready to cover your pansies 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 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.