Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita should be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant diascia.

Planting Calendar for Diascia

Frost tolerance for diascia:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Diascia do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant diascia in Rancho Santa Margarita 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 diascia and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your diascia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your diascia 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 January 31 in Rancho Santa Margarita. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rancho Santa Margarita you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your diascia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Santa Margarita

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Rancho Santa Margarita

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