When to Plant Sunflowers in Zone 11a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

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

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Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Since sunflowers do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 11a it never frosts. It might get as low as 40°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 11a may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 11a you do not have to be ready to protect your sunflowers 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.