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.

In Zone 9b you can figure out when it's the best time to plant eggplants by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since eggplants are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Zone 9b is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Zone 9b. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 9b is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9b you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your eggplants in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9b

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