One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Cathedral City you should be able to determine when it's a good idea 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 are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Cathedral City 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 fully mature. 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 Cathedral City 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 is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cathedral City and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cathedral City last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your astilbe if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cathedral City

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 Cathedral City

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