When to Plant Watermelon in Santa Rosa, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant watermelon in Santa Rosa should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Watermelon

Frost tolerance for watermelon: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Watermelon do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Santa Rosa is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watermelon and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watermelon may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your watermelon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Rosa 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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Rosa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Rosa you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your watermelon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Rosa

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Santa Rosa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Rosa.