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.

In Merced you can figure out when it's possible to plant pyrethrum by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pyrethrum

Frost tolerance for pyrethrum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Pyrethrum do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pyrethrum in Merced is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pyrethrum and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your pyrethrum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pyrethrum indoors.

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.

Since the USDA zone info for Merced is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit 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 cover your pyrethrum 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.