One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Berkeley you should be able to figure out when to plant rhubarb.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

Frost tolerance for rhubarb:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Rhubarb are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your rhubarb 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. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Berkeley is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Berkeley you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your rhubarb 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.