Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Shafter it's possible to figure out when you can plant helianthemum.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Since helianthemum are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your helianthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Shafter. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Shafter you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your helianthemum if you have 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.