The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when you can plant nicotiana is to use the USDA zone info for Los Banos.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

You really shouldn't plant nicotiana until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Los Banos 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. Any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nicotiana indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Los Banos. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Los Banos is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Los Banos you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your nicotiana if you have 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.