One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 estimate when you can plant sunflowers by referring to the USDA zone info for California City.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

You really shouldn't plant sunflowers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in California City is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in California City. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for California City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in California City last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your sunflowers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for California City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in California City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for California City.