One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Madera can be used to estimate when you can plant four o' clock.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since four o' clock require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Madera 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your four o' clock may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your four o' clock indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Madera the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madera and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Madera you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your four o' clock in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madera

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 Madera

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