The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant hosta is to look at the USDA zone info for Modesto.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Hosta do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Modesto may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Modesto you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your hosta if you have one of those late frosts.

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.