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.

By using the USDA zone info for Zone 9b you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant purple coneflower.

Planting Calendar for Purple Coneflower

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

Since purple coneflower do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant purple coneflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purple coneflower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your purple coneflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Zone 9b. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9b is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 9b you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your purple coneflower in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.