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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant four o' clock is to refer to the USDA zone info for South El Monte.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant four o' clock until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in South El Monte is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your four o' clock may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your four o' clock indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in South El Monte. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South El Monte and it is different every year. Half of the time in South El Monte it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to protect your four o' clock if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South El Monte

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 South El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South El Monte.