One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Desert Hot Springs can be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Since cardinal flower require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Desert Hot Springs 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Desert Hot Springs the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Desert Hot Springs is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Desert Hot Springs last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Desert Hot Springs

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 Desert Hot Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Desert Hot Springs.