Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Calimesa can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant astilbe.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Calimesa 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your astilbe indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Calimesa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°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 Calimesa and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Calimesa it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your astilbe in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Calimesa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Calimesa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Calimesa.