One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Cupertino you can estimate when it's the best time to plant bleeding hearts by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

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

Bleeding Hearts do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bleeding hearts in Cupertino 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 bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your bleeding hearts indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Cupertino. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cupertino is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cupertino it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your bleeding hearts in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cupertino

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 Cupertino

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