When to Plant Cantaloupes in Zone 11a

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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes in Zone 11a by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

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

Since cantaloupes do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Zone 11a 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 cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 11a it never frosts. You should expect an average low temperature of 40°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 11a and it will vary from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 11a you do not have to be ready to protect your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 11a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)Never
Lowest Expected Low40°F
Highest Expected Low45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 11a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 11a.