The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant cilantro in Chico should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

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

Since cilantro are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Chico 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 cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cilantro may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cilantro indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Chico. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Chico is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Chico you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cilantro if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chico

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Chico

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