When to Plant Cosmos in Live Oak, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The best time to plant cosmos in Live Oak can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cosmos

Frost tolerance for cosmos: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since cosmos are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Live Oak is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cosmos indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Live Oak may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Live Oak you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cosmos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Live Oak

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Live Oak

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Live Oak.