One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant firebush is to use the USDA zone info for Downey.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Firebush do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Downey 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your firebush indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Downey. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Downey may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Downey it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your firebush in the event of a 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.