One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of estimating when to plant verbena is to consult the USDA zone info for Downey.

Planting Calendar for Verbena

Frost tolerance for verbena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Verbena do well in very little cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant verbena 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 verbena and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your verbena 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. It might get as low as 35°F during 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 last frost occurs after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your verbena 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.