Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Los Altos you can estimate when you can plant pentas by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

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

It's not a good idea to plant pentas until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pentas 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pentas may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pentas indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Los Altos and it is different every year. Half of the time in Los Altos it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pentas if you have one of those late frosts.

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.