When to Plant Cardinal Flower in Zone 11a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Zone 11a should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

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

Since cardinal flower are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Zone 11a 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cardinal flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 11a it never frosts. It might get as low as 40°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 11a and it will vary from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 11a you do not have to be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 11a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)Never
Lowest Expected Low40°F
Highest Expected Low45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 11a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 11a.