One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant tall phlox by reviewing the USDA zone info for Mission Viejo.

Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

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

Since tall phlox do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mission Viejo is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mission Viejo it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your tall 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.