Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 Monte can be looked at to estimate when you can plant achimenes.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant achimenes until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in El Monte 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for El Monte is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Monte you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your achimenes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Monte

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 Monte

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