One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant cosmos by checking out the USDA zone info for Selma.

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 very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Selma 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. If you wait any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cosmos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Selma. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Selma and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Selma last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cosmos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Selma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Selma

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Selma.