One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of determining when it's the best time to plant phlox is to use the USDA zone info for Mission Viejo.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

Frost tolerance for phlox:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Phlox do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Mission Viejo is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant phlox and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Mission Viejo. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mission Viejo is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mission Viejo you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your phlox if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission Viejo

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 Mission Viejo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mission Viejo.