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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant fuchsia is to consult the USDA zone info for Portola Valley.

Planting Calendar for Fuchsia

Frost tolerance for fuchsia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant fuchsia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant fuchsia 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 fuchsia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your fuchsia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your fuchsia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Portola Valley the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Portola Valley is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Portola Valley you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your fuchsia if you have 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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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.