When to Plant Salvia in Monterey, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant salvia in Monterey should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Salvia

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

Salvia do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant salvia 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 salvia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your salvia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your salvia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Monterey. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to 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 last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your salvia if you have one of those late frosts.

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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.