When to Plant Oenothera in Fountain Valley, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant oenothera by reviewing the USDA zone info for Fountain Valley.


Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Since oenothera are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oenothera
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oenothera
Probably not a good time to plant oenothera

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Fountain Valley 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your oenothera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fountain Valley the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°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 Fountain Valley and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fountain Valley last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your oenothera in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fountain Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Fountain Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fountain Valley.