One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of estimating when to plant liatris is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 9a.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

Frost tolerance for liatris:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Liatris do ok in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant liatris 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your liatris may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your liatris indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Zone 9a. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 9a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your liatris in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.