When to Plant Oenothera in Sacramento, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sacramento you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant oenothera by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Oenothera

Frost tolerance for oenothera: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oenothera do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oenothera
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oenothera
Probably not a good time to plant oenothera

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Sacramento is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Sacramento the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sacramento and it is different every year. Half of the time in Sacramento you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your oenothera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sacramento

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Sacramento

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