One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's possible to plant tropical water plants in El Cajon by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

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

You can not plant tropical water plants until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in El Cajon 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Cajon the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for El Cajon is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in El Cajon last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your tropical water plants in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cajon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Cajon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cajon.