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

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant schizanthus in Berkeley by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since schizanthus require warm weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Berkeley is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your schizanthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Berkeley the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Berkeley is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your schizanthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Berkeley

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