The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when it's possible to plant schizanthus by looking at the USDA zone info for Novato.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant schizanthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Novato is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your schizanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your schizanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Novato. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Novato is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Novato it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your schizanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

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.