One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first opportunity to plant snapdragons in Merced can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Snapdragons

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

Snapdragons do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant snapdragons 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 snapdragons and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your snapdragons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your snapdragons indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Merced the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Merced is just an average 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 snapdragons in the event of a 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.