The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant echinacea is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 12b.

Planting Calendar for Echinacea

Frost tolerance for echinacea:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since echinacea are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant echinacea in Zone 12b 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 echinacea and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your echinacea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your echinacea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12b it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 55°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 12b and it is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12b you do not have to be ready to cover your echinacea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	55°F
Highest Expected Low	60°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 60°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12b

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