One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Long Beach you can figure out when to plant achimenes by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

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

Since achimenes do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Long Beach is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Long Beach. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Long Beach is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Long Beach last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your achimenes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.