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.

A common way of determining when you can plant primula is to refer to the USDA zone info for Novato.

Planting Calendar for Primula

Frost tolerance for primula:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since primula are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Novato. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Novato is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Novato you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your primula if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Novato

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 Novato

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