One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant sunflowers in Berkley by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since sunflowers do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Berkley 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your sunflowers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Berkley. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Berkley may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Berkley there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your sunflowers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berkley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Berkley

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