One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant gerbera is to examine the USDA zone info for Calimesa.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

You can plant gerbera a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gerbera 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 gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gerbera indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Calimesa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

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 last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your gerbera 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.