One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Downey can be used to determine when to plant stevia.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

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

Since stevia require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant stevia 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your stevia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your stevia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Downey is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Downey there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your stevia 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.