Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant spearmint is to refer to the USDA zone info for San Clemente.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

Frost tolerance for spearmint:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since spearmint do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in San Clemente 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your spearmint 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 January 31 in San Clemente. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Clemente is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in San Clemente you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your spearmint in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Clemente

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Clemente

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Clemente.