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

By checking out the USDA zone info for El Centro you will be able to determine when it's possible to plant lithospermum.

Planting Calendar for Lithospermum

Frost tolerance for lithospermum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant lithospermum until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lithospermum 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 lithospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lithospermum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lithospermum 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 El Centro. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for El Centro is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in El Centro you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your lithospermum 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.