One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 first opportunity to plant tropical water plants in Salinas can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant tropical water plants until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Salinas 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical water plants indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Salinas the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Salinas is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salinas it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your tropical water plants in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salinas

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 Salinas

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