One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Orinda you will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant helianthemum.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

You can plant helianthemum a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your helianthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Orinda is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Orinda last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your helianthemum 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.