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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Winters it's a good idea to determine when to plant lovage.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Since lovage are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lovage in Winters 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lovage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Winters. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Winters is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Winters there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lovage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winters

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 Winters

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