One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Zone 12a should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Since helianthemum are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Zone 12a 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your helianthemum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your helianthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 12a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to cover your helianthemum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	50°F
Highest Expected Low	55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.