The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Shafter can be used to determine when you can plant doronicum.

Planting Calendar for Doronicum

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

Doronicum do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant doronicum in Shafter 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 doronicum and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your doronicum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your doronicum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Shafter. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Shafter is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your doronicum in the event of a surprise 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.