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.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant dallas fern is to consult the USDA zone info for Palo Alto.

Planting Calendar for Dallas Fern

Frost tolerance for dallas fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since dallas fern do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dallas fern in Palo Alto is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dallas fern and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dallas fern may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dallas fern indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palo Alto and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Palo Alto it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your dallas fern if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palo Alto

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 Palo Alto

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palo Alto.