Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 9a you can figure out when it's the best time to plant bell peppers by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

Frost tolerance for bell peppers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant bell peppers until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Zone 9a 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 bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 9a 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.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 9a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your bell peppers in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

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 Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.