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When to Plant Cilantro in Portola Valley, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 first chance to plant cilantro in Portola Valley should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

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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.

Cilantro are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cilantro
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cilantro
Probably not a good time to plant cilantro

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Portola Valley 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cilantro indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Portola Valley. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portola Valley and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Portola Valley last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your cilantro in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portola Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Portola Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Portola Valley.