One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant arctotis is to examine the USDA zone info for Renton.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

You can plant arctotis a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Renton 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arctotis indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Renton the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Renton and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Renton there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your arctotis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Renton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Renton

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