One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Downey you can estimate when it's the best time to plant hamelia by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

Frost tolerance for hamelia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since hamelia require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hamelia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hamelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Downey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Downey and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Downey you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your hamelia 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.