Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Merced you can determine when you can plant buddha belly plant by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Buddha belly plant

Frost tolerance for buddha belly plant:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since buddha belly plant do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Merced. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Merced is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Merced you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your buddha belly plant in the event of a surprise 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.