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

It's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant nigella by looking at the USDA zone info for San Jose.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

Nigella can survive in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in San Jose 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your nigella indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Jose the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for San Jose is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in San Jose last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your nigella if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

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