One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 USDA zone info for Oakland should be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant festuca.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

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

You can plant festuca a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Oakland 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 festuca and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your festuca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your festuca indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Oakland the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Oakland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Oakland you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your festuca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oakland

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 Oakland

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