The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant delphinium by reviewing the USDA zone info for Merced.

Planting Calendar for Delphinium

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

Since delphinium are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant delphinium 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 delphinium and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your delphinium may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your delphinium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

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.

Remember that USDA zone info for Merced is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Merced you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your delphinium 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.