Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross is to check out the USDA zone info for National City.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

Maltese Cross do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in National City 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your maltese cross may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your maltese cross indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in National City. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for National City is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in National City you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your maltese cross in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for National City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.