One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 estimating when you can plant purple coneflower is to look at the USDA zone info for Martinez.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Purple Coneflower do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Martinez the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Martinez may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Martinez you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Martinez

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 Martinez

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