When to Plant Caladium in San Francisco, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 earliest that you can plant caladium in San Francisco should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since caladium do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant caladium in San Francisco is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant caladium and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your caladium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in San Francisco. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Francisco is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in San Francisco you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your caladium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Francisco

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in San Francisco

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Francisco.