When to Plant Scarlet Pimpernels in Lake Forest, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant scarlet pimpernels by reviewing the USDA zone info for Lake Forest.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

Frost tolerance for scarlet pimpernels: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since scarlet pimpernels are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant scarlet pimpernels
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant scarlet pimpernels
Probably not a good time to plant scarlet pimpernels

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels in Lake Forest 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 scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Lake Forest. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Forest is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Forest you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your scarlet pimpernels if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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 Lake Forest

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