One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 Clearlake you should be able to figure out when to plant scabiosa.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

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

Scabiosa do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scabiosa may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your scabiosa indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clearlake the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clearlake is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Clearlake last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your scabiosa if you have 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.