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

The USDA zone info for Ripon should be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time to plant amaranthus.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

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

You really shouldn't plant amaranthus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Ripon is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your amaranthus 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 February 15 in Ripon. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ripon is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ripon there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your amaranthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Ripon

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