When to plant chili pepper in Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, typical last spring frost is January 15 and typical first fall frost is January 1. Typical last spring frost: January 15. Chili pepper in Los Angeles is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 160 days covers the 60–100 days this plant usually needs.

Chili pepper

How to grow Chili pepper Los Angeles climate Weekly temperatures and windows

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Chili pepper in Los Angeles is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 160 days covers the 60–100 days this plant usually needs.

Start indoors: February 14 – April 10
Transplant outside: April 18 – June 12
Harvest: June 17 – September 20
Season vs crop: 160 grow days vs 60–100 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): January 15 – January 1

Chili pepper in Los Angeles is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 160 days covers the 60–100 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Start indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row160

Days to harvest60–100 days from transplant

Feb 14 – Apr 10

Start indoors

Apr 11 – Apr 17

Harden off

April 18

Transplant outside

Apr 19 – Jun 16

Grow outdoors

Jun 17 – Sep 20

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Feb 14 – Apr 10	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Harden off	Apr 11 – Apr 17	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	April 18	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	Apr 19 – Jun 16	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	Jun 17 – Sep 20	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Start indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost (35 seasons (1991–2025)). Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (21 – 32 °C70 – 90 °F21 – 32 °C (70 – 90 °F)) and tolerable (16 – 35 °C61 – 95 °F16 – 35 °C (61 – 95 °F)) ranges.

Ideal / plantable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot
Outside window

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules; growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostJanuary 15

Low-risk last spring frostFebruary 14

Typical first fall frostJanuary 1

Low-risk first fall frostDecember 19

Frost-free days350

Earliest indoor seed startFebruary 14

Latest indoor seed startApril 10

Transplant outdoorsApril 18 – June 12

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowApril 18 – September 24 (160 days)

Expected harvestJune 17 – September 20

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 21 – 32 °C70 – 90 °F21 – 32 °C (70 – 90 °F).
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 16 – 35 °C61 – 95 °F16 – 35 °C (61 – 95 °F).
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Los Angeles, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 60–100 days from transplant, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. Air ratings on the weekly chart colour only weeks inside that same window — see weekly temperatures and windows.

Other plants for Los Angeles

Calculated by Plan & Plant. Method. Data 35 seasons (1991–2025).

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics.

Based on 35 years (1991–2025) of ERA5-Land data from Open-Meteo, for an area of about 10 km. Typical dates, not a guarantee.

Dates for Los Angeles use ERA5-Land cell 34.05, -118.25. How we calculated this · Algorithm 2026-10-season-10.

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