One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Watsonville should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters do well in moderate cold which means that 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 asters in Watsonville 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Watsonville the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Watsonville is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Watsonville you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your asters in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watsonville

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 Watsonville

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