Orlaya · Marbella, Andalusia, Spain
When to sow orlayas in Marbella
Main outdoor window
3-31 Jan
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
31 January
In Marbella, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
3 Apr - 3 May
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Marbella
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Start indoors
6 Dec - 3 Jan
Eight weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
3-31 Jan
Four weeks before your last frost.
Plant out
17 Jan - 14 Feb
Two weeks before your last frost.
In flower
3 Apr - 3 May
Orlayas through the year
Against the frost risk in Marbella
Why these dates
Sow direct four weeks before the last frost into cool soil, or start indoors eight weeks before it. Germination is slow and uneven at the best of times and much better after a fortnight of cold, so autumn sowing suits it. Self-seeds where the drainage is good enough.
Hardy to about -12C. Autumn sowing is the traditional method around the Mediterranean and works anywhere in zone 8 and milder. Humid summer heat brings it to an early end.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Orlayas are timed from 8 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Marbella.
Marbella sits in zone 10b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
Also in Marbella
Other flowers to time
Growing orlayas in Marbella
When should I plant orlayas in Marbella?
Aim for 3-31 Jan in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 6 Jan - 3 Feb - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will orlayas be ready to harvest in Marbella?
Expect to start picking around 3 Apr - 3 May, based on 90 to 120 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will orlayas tolerate?
Hardy to about -12C. Autumn sowing is the traditional method around the Mediterranean and works anywhere in zone 8 and milder. Humid summer heat brings it to an early end.