One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for El Centro you will be able to determine when you can plant flower-of-an-hour.

Planting Calendar for Flower-of-an-Hour

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

You can plant flower-of-an-hour just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant flower-of-an-hour in El Centro 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 flower-of-an-hour and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your flower-of-an-hour may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your flower-of-an-hour indoors.

Last Frost Date

In El Centro the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Centro and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Centro you get a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your flower-of-an-hour if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Centro

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Centro

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Centro.