One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Orinda should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant cerastium.

Planting Calendar for Cerastium

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

Cerastium are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant cerastium in Orinda 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 cerastium and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your cerastium may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cerastium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orinda. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°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 Orinda and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Orinda you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your cerastium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Orinda

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 Orinda

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