Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when you can plant astilbe is to look at the USDA zone info for Merced.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Merced 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your astilbe indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Merced the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Merced may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Merced it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your astilbe in the event of 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.