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

The USDA zone info for Merced should be looked at to figure out when it's the best time to plant gerbera.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

Since gerbera are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gerbera 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 gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gerbera indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Merced. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merced and it is different every year. Half of the time in Merced last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gerbera 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.