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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower by checking out the USDA zone info for Indio.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Since cardinal flower require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Indio 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Indio. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Indio may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Indio you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Indio

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 Indio

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