One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Willits it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant gomphrena.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

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

Since gomphrena are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in Willits 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 gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gomphrena indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Willits the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Willits may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Willits there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your gomphrena if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Willits

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Willits

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