Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant platycodon.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

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

Platycodon can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant platycodon in Modesto 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 platycodon and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your platycodon may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your platycodon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Modesto the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Modesto and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Modesto it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your platycodon in the event of 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.