One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first opportunity to plant pentas in Taft can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since pentas do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Taft the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Taft may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Taft you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pentas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Taft

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Taft

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Taft.