When to Plant Painted Tongues in Zone 10a

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 can determine when it's a good idea to plant painted tongues in Zone 10a by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since painted tongues do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Zone 10a 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Zone 10a. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 10a and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 10a you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your painted tongues if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 10a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 10a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 10a.