One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 figure out when you can plant dipladenia by looking at the USDA zone info for Orange.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

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

Since dipladenia are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dipladenia in Orange 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 dipladenia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dipladenia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dipladenia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Orange the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Orange and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Orange last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dipladenia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Orange

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Orange

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange.