The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant purple coneflower is to consult the USDA zone info for Portola Valley.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

You can plant purple coneflower a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant purple coneflower 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 purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your purple coneflower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your purple coneflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Portola Valley. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portola Valley is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Portola Valley it frosts late in the year after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of a surprise 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.