One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant cosmos is to refer to the USDA zone info for Turlock.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

Frost tolerance for cosmos:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Cosmos do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Turlock 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cosmos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cosmos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Turlock. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Turlock is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Turlock it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cosmos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Turlock

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 Turlock

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