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.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant schizanthus by reviewing the USDA zone info for Fortuna.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Schizanthus are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Fortuna is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your schizanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Fortuna. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fortuna is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fortuna you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your schizanthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fortuna

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 Fortuna

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