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.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant arctotis by using the USDA zone info for Stafford.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

Frost tolerance for arctotis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Arctotis do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Stafford is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your arctotis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Stafford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stafford and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Stafford you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your arctotis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

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 Stafford

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