One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant dipladenia is to use the USDA zone info for Bakersfield.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

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

Since dipladenia do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dipladenia in Bakersfield 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 dipladenia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dipladenia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dipladenia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Bakersfield. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bakersfield and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bakersfield you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dipladenia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bakersfield

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 Bakersfield

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bakersfield.