When to Plant Primula in Palm Desert, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Palm Desert can be looked at to estimate when it's possible to plant primula.


Planting Calendar for Primula

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

Primula do well in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant primula 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your primula indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Palm Desert the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palm Desert and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Palm Desert there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your primula in the event of 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.