One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Merced it's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant alstromeria.

Planting Calendar for Alstromeria

Frost tolerance for alstromeria:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since alstromeria are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alstromeria in Merced is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alstromeria and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your alstromeria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your alstromeria indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Merced. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

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 Merced and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Merced there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your alstromeria if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Merced

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 Merced

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