The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant strawberries in Merced by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant strawberries quite a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

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.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merced and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Merced you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your strawberries if you have 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.