When to Plant Tithonia in Watsonville, CA

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.

The first chance to plant tithonia in Watsonville should be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Tithonia do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tithonia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tithonia
Probably not a good time to plant tithonia

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Watsonville 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tithonia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tithonia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Watsonville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Watsonville you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your tithonia if you have one of those late frosts.

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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.