One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 Dos Palos should be used to estimate when it's the best time 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.

You should not plant cardinal flower until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Dos Palos 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 really do well. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dos Palos the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dos Palos is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dos Palos there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cardinal flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dos Palos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Dos Palos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dos Palos.