One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Downey should be looked at to estimate when you can plant bellis.

Planting Calendar for Bellis

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

Bellis are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bellis in Downey is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bellis and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your bellis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bellis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Downey. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Downey may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Downey there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bellis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Downey

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