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.

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant amaranthus is to consult the USDA zone info for Shafter.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant amaranthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Shafter 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 amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your amaranthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Shafter. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your amaranthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

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 Shafter

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