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

In Chico you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Osteospermum are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Chico is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chico the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chico and it is different every year. Half of the time in Chico there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your osteospermum in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.