One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Modesto should be looked at to estimate when it's a good idea to plant coleus.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since coleus require warm weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Modesto 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your coleus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Modesto. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

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 Modesto and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Modesto there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your coleus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Modesto

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Modesto

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Modesto.