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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant calliopsis is to check out the USDA zone info for Elsa.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

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

It's not a good idea to plant calliopsis until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Elsa 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your calliopsis 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 Elsa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elsa and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Elsa you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your calliopsis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elsa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Elsa

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