Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Downey you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant dipladenia.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

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

Since dipladenia require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dipladenia in Downey 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 dipladenia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dipladenia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dipladenia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Downey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Downey and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Downey you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your dipladenia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

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 Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°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 Downey

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