The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Melbourne should be reviewed to determine when it's a good idea to plant festuca.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

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

Festuca are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Melbourne 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 festuca and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your festuca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your festuca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Melbourne 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 Melbourne you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your festuca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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