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 checking out the USDA zone info for Exeter you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant centaurea.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

Since centaurea are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather 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 centaurea in Exeter 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your centaurea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Exeter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Exeter 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 Exeter last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your centaurea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Exeter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Exeter

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Exeter.