Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant schizanthus is to examine the USDA zone info for Colton.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant schizanthus until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

In Colton the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Colton is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Colton last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your schizanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Colton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Colton

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