One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant flowering tobacco by reviewing the USDA zone info for Shafter.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Tobacco

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

Since flowering tobacco are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant flowering tobacco 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 flowering tobacco and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flowering tobacco may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your flowering tobacco indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Shafter. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Shafter is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Shafter it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your flowering tobacco in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.