One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Ridgecrest you can estimate when you can plant dusty miller by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

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

Dusty Miller do well in cold which means that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Ridgecrest 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dusty miller indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Ridgecrest. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ridgecrest may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ridgecrest it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dusty miller if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgecrest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ridgecrest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ridgecrest.