One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Portola Valley you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant lavender cotton by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

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

Lavender Cotton are very cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in Portola Valley 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender cotton may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lavender cotton indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks 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.

Remember that USDA zone info for Portola Valley is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Portola Valley there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lavender cotton if you have a late frost.

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.