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 estimating when it's a good idea to plant pansies is to look at the USDA zone info for Lake Alfred.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Lake Alfred the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Alfred is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Alfred you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your pansies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Alfred

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 Lake Alfred

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Alfred.