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

The USDA zone info for Sierra Madre should be looked at to estimate when it's the best time to plant nigella.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since nigella are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Sierra Madre 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Sierra Madre the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sierra Madre may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Sierra Madre it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your nigella if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sierra Madre

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Sierra Madre

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sierra Madre.