One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant amaranthus is to use the USDA zone info for Merced.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

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

You can not plant amaranthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Merced. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Merced may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary 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 amaranthus if you have a late frost.

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.