When to Plant Sweet Peas in Costa Mesa, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Costa Mesa you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant sweet peas.


Planting Calendar for Sweet Peas

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

Sweet Peas are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant sweet peas
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant sweet peas
Probably not a good time to plant sweet peas

The earliest that you can plant sweet peas in Costa Mesa 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 sweet peas and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sweet peas may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your sweet peas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Costa Mesa. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Costa Mesa is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Costa Mesa last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your sweet peas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Costa Mesa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Costa Mesa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Costa Mesa.