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.

One way of determining when to plant bell peppers is to examine the USDA zone info for Palm Springs.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

Frost tolerance for bell peppers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Bell Peppers are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Palm Springs is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your bell peppers 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 Springs. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palm Springs and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Palm Springs last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Springs

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 Springs

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