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

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant pansies is to consult the USDA zone info for Zone 9a.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Pansies can survive in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pansies 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

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 last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your pansies in the event of a 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.