One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Petaluma you can determine when it's a good idea to plant painted tongues by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since painted tongues are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Petaluma 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Petaluma. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Petaluma is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Petaluma last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your painted tongues if you have one of those late frosts.

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.