Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant nicotiana is to look at the USDA zone info for Los Altos.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since nicotiana require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Los Altos 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your nicotiana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Los Altos. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Los Altos and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Los Altos you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your nicotiana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Altos

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 Los Altos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Altos.