One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Ione you should be able to determine when you can plant lavender.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Ione 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Ione. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ione and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ione you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lavender in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ione

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 Ione

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