Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant astilbe by looking at the USDA zone info for San Marcos.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in San Marcos 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your astilbe may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your astilbe indoors.

Last Frost Date

In San Marcos the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for San Marcos is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Marcos you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your astilbe in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Marcos

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 Marcos

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