Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant pentas is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ripon.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since pentas are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pentas 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your pentas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pentas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ripon. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ripon is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ripon there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your pentas 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.