When to Plant Pansies in Zone 10a

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant pansies in Zone 10a should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

You can plant pansies a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Zone 10a 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your pansies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Zone 10a. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Zone 10a is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 10a there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pansies if you have a surprise late frost.

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.