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.

A common way of estimating when you can plant coreopsis is to look at the USDA zone info for Lompoc.

Planting Calendar for Coreopsis

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

Since coreopsis do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant coreopsis in Lompoc 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 coreopsis and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coreopsis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your coreopsis indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Lompoc is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lompoc there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your coreopsis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lompoc

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 Lompoc

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