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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for San Marcos it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant cosmos.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Cosmos do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cosmos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in San Marcos. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for San Marcos is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Marcos you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your cosmos 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.