One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Rancho Mirage you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant schizanthus.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

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

Since schizanthus are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Rancho Mirage 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your schizanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rancho Mirage is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rancho Mirage it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Mirage

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 Rancho Mirage

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Mirage.