When to Plant Larkspur in California, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

You should be able to determine when it's possible to plant larkspur by referring to the USDA zone info for California.


Planting Calendar for Larkspur

Frost tolerance for larkspur: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Larkspur do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant larkspur
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant larkspur
Probably not a good time to plant larkspur

The earliest that you can plant larkspur in California 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your larkspur may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your larkspur indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In California the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for California

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in California

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