One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant helianthemum is to refer to the USDA zone info for El Cerrito.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Since helianthemum are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in El Cerrito 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your helianthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your helianthemum 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 Cerrito. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Cerrito is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in El Cerrito there is a last frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your helianthemum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cerrito

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 Cerrito

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