One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 estimating when it's a good idea to plant polka dot plant is to refer to the USDA zone info for Berkeley.

Planting Calendar for Polka Dot Plant

Frost tolerance for polka dot plant:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant polka dot plant until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In Berkeley the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to 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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your polka dot plant in the event of 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.