One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant platycodon by reviewing the USDA zone info for Ripon.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

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

Platycodon do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Ripon. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ripon is just an average 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 protect your platycodon 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.