The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening 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 Lake Elsinore should be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant sunflowers.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Sunflowers require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Lake Elsinore 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your sunflowers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Elsinore and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Elsinore there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your sunflowers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Elsinore

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 Lake Elsinore

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Elsinore.