Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant centaurea in Clearlake can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

You can plant centaurea a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Clearlake 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your centaurea indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Clearlake. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clearlake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Clearlake you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your centaurea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clearlake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Clearlake

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