One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Palo Alto can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme do well in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

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.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Palo Alto is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Palo Alto you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your thyme if you have a surprise late frost.

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.