One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for El Centro can be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant helianthemum.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

You can plant helianthemum a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in El Centro 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your helianthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Centro and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in El Centro there is a last frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your helianthemum if you have a 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.