Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 figuring out when it's a good idea to plant delphinium is to examine the USDA zone info for Long Beach.

Planting Calendar for Delphinium

Frost tolerance for delphinium:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Delphinium do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Long Beach. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Long Beach may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Long Beach you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your delphinium 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.