One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Monterey it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant gladiolus.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Monterey 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gladiolus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Monterey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Monterey and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Monterey you get a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monterey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Monterey

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