The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for National City you will be able to determine when you can plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant cardinal flower until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in National City 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In National City the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for National City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in National City last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for National City

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 National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.