When to Plant Liatris in Palm Desert, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant liatris is to refer to the USDA zone info for Palm Desert.


Planting Calendar for Liatris

Frost tolerance for liatris: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Liatris can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Palm Desert 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your liatris indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Palm Desert. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palm Desert is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Palm Desert last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your liatris if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Desert

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Palm Desert

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palm Desert.