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.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant roses is to look at the USDA zone info for San Mateo.

Planting Calendar for Roses

Frost tolerance for roses:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Roses are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant roses in San Mateo 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 roses and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your roses may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your roses indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Mateo the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Mateo and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in San Mateo it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to cover your roses if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Mateo

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 Mateo

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