Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant centaurea by referring to the USDA zone info for Palm Desert.

Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

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

The earliest that you can plant centaurea in Palm Desert 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your centaurea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Palm Desert. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palm Desert and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Palm Desert it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your centaurea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Desert

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 Palm Desert

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palm Desert.