When to Plant Scarlet Pimpernels in San Jose, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant scarlet pimpernels by using the USDA zone info for San Jose.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

Frost tolerance for scarlet pimpernels: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant scarlet pimpernels slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels in San Jose 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 scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors.

Last Frost Date

In San Jose the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Jose is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in San Jose it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your scarlet pimpernels in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

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