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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant hosta is to use the USDA zone info for El Cerrito.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Hosta can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hosta 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hosta 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 Cerrito. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for El Cerrito may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in El Cerrito it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your hosta if you have a 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.