When to Plant Lemon grass in Oakland, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Oakland you will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant lemon grass.


Planting Calendar for Lemon grass

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

Since lemon grass are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant lemon grass in Oakland 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 lemon grass and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lemon grass may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lemon grass indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oakland and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oakland you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lemon grass in the event of 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 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 Oakland

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