One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Lake Elsinore can be reviewed 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 can not plant cardinal flower until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Lake Elsinore 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. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lake Elsinore. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Elsinore is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Elsinore there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your cardinal flower in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Elsinore

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 Lake Elsinore

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Elsinore.