One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant bell peppers is to refer to the USDA zone info for Zone 12b.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

Frost tolerance for bell peppers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant bell peppers until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Zone 12b 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 bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12b it never frosts. It might get as low as 55°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 12b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12b you do not have to be ready to cover your bell peppers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	55°F
Highest Expected Low	60°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 60°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12b.