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.

The USDA zone info for Orinda can be reviewed to estimate when it's the best time to plant nigella.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Nigella do well in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Orinda the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Orinda is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Orinda there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your nigella 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.