The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening 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 making a decision about when it's possible to plant cilantro is to examine the USDA zone info for Petaluma.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

Frost tolerance for cilantro:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant cilantro slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Petaluma is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your cilantro may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cilantro 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 Petaluma. 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 just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Petaluma and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Petaluma there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cilantro if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Petaluma

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 Petaluma

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Petaluma.