One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for El Cerrito it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant pansies.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since pansies are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pansies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in El Cerrito. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Cerrito and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Cerrito it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to cover your pansies if you have one of those late frosts.

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.