One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant hardy asters in Los Banos can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Since hardy asters are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Los Banos 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Los Banos. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Los Banos may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Los Banos it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your hardy asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Banos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Los Banos

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