When to Plant Primula in San Rafael, CA

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.

In San Rafael you can figure out when you can plant primula by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Primula

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

Primula tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant primula
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant primula
Probably not a good time to plant primula

The earliest that you can plant primula in San Rafael 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your primula may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your primula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in San Rafael. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Rafael and it is different every year. Since half of the time in San Rafael there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your primula if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Rafael

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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 Rafael

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