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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Merced it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant calibrachoa.

Planting Calendar for Calibrachoa

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

Since calibrachoa are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant calibrachoa 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 calibrachoa and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your calibrachoa may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your calibrachoa indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember 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 a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your calibrachoa in the event of 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.