When to Plant Lavender in Modesto, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 determine when it's a good idea to plant lavender.


Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lavender
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lavender
Probably not a good time to plant lavender

The earliest that you can plant lavender 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Modesto is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Modesto you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lavender in the event of 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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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.