One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Merced you can figure out when it's the best time to plant polka dot plant by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Polka Dot Plant

Frost tolerance for polka dot plant:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Polka Dot Plant require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant polka dot 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 polka dot plant and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your polka dot plant may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your polka dot plant 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. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to 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 protect your polka dot plant if you have 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.