One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Zone 9a it's possible to estimate when you can plant iberis.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

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

Iberis tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant iberis in Zone 9a 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 iberis and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your iberis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your iberis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Zone 9a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9a is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your iberis if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.