One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant pentas is to consult the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

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

Pentas do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pentas in Rancho Santa Margarita 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pentas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pentas indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rancho Santa Margarita you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your pentas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Santa Margarita

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 Rancho Santa Margarita

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Santa Margarita.