The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant gladiolus by reviewing the USDA zone info for Clearlake.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus do well in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Clearlake is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gladiolus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on 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 an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Clearlake there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your gladiolus 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.