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

The USDA zone info for Downey should be read to figure out when it's a good idea to plant roses.

Planting Calendar for Roses

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

Roses can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant roses 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 roses and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your roses may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your roses indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Downey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Downey is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Downey you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your roses if you have one of those late frosts.

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.