One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant tarragon by looking at the USDA zone info for Merced.

Planting Calendar for Tarragon

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

You can plant tarragon just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tarragon 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 tarragon and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tarragon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tarragon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them 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 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 last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your tarragon 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.