Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

A way of figuring out when to plant gayfeather is to use the USDA zone info for Palo Alto.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

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

You can plant gayfeather quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Palo Alto 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 gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your gayfeather may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gayfeather 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 Palo Alto. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palo Alto may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Palo Alto you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gayfeather 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.